CHYLOMICRON FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION AND SERUM-LIPID CONCENTRATIONS IN SUBJECTS FED CAPRENIN OR PALM OIL PALM KERNEL OIL AS THE MAJOR DIETARY-FAT

This study, part of a larger study of dietary fats with different satu rated fatty acid content, was performed to investigate the effect of c aprenin on chylomicron fatty acid composition and postprandial serum l ipid concentrations. Caprenin is a triglyceride made of caprylic acid (8:0), capric acid (10:0) and behenic acid (22:0). Thirty subjects wer e standardized for 3 weeks on a diet providing palm oil/palm kernel oi l (PO/PKO) as the major fat in a 38 energy % fat diet. Then, 15 subjec ts continued eating PO/PKO while 15 switched to caprenin. After 5 week s subjects consumed a meal with 40 g of test fat; blood was sampled at 0, 2, 4 and 6 hours. Amounts of 22:0 but not 8.0 and 10.0 varied (P<0 .05 for time effect) over the 6 hour period in caprenin subjects; prop ortions of these fatty acids were much lower in chylomicrons than in t he caprenin meal while proportions of palmitic acid (16:0) and oleic a cid (18:1) were at least 4-fold higher in chylomicron lipids than in t he meal. Postprandial concentrations of triglycerides in chylomicrons and serum and of cholesterol in plasma did not differ between dietary groups. These findings indicate 1) very low uptake of 8:0, 10:0 and 22 .0 into chylomicrons, 2) a postprandial lipemia after caprenin compara ble to that produced by other dietary fats as opposed to a fat-free me al, 3) considerable contribution be endogenously-derived fatty acids t o chylomicron lipids and 4) equal effects of saturated fatty acids on pre- and postprandial concentrations of plasma cholesterol.