Caprenin

Abstract: To study the effects of dietary behenic acid on cholesterol metabolism, we fed hamsters four synthetic, randomly arranged triglycerides that were formulated to allow the comparison of the effects of a single dietary fatty acid. The dietary triglycerides (including that from chow) fed to the linoleate group contained approximately 55% linoleic acid. The palmitate, oleate, and behenate groups received fats similar in composition to the linoleate fat, but approximately half of the linoleic acid of the triglyceride was replaced with either palmitic, oleic, or behenic acid. In addition to this long-chain behenate fat (BLCT), behenic acid was also fed as a triglyceride made from medium-chain fatty acids and behenic acid (BMCT). This BMCT fat was similar in composition to caprenin, a reduced-calorie alternative to cocoa butter. A group that received medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) was included for comparison with the BMCT group. The synthetic fats were all fed at a level of 15% by weight, along with 84.8% chow and 0.2% cholesterol. After 4 weeks the animals were sacrificed and LDL cholesterol levels were measured. Measurements are mmol/L, common superscripts indicate no difference, P Chow, 0.78 ± 0.05∗; Linoleate, 4.73 ± 0.23†, Palmitate, 5.07 ± 0.31†; Oleate, 2.79 ± 0.10‡,§; BLCT, 2.53 ± 0.13‡; BMCT, 3.26 ± 0.28 ± § ; MCT, 4.16 ± 0.34¶. Behenic acid in feces was measured after methylation and extraction with ether. Behenic acid absorption ranged from 19–29%. The presence of unhydrolyzed triglyceride in the feces of the BLCT group suggested that BLCT might alter the absorption of dietary cholesterol. In a second study, fecal cholesterol and its metabolites were measured after feeding BLCT. The fecal choleterol was nearly three times that from a safflower oil-fed control group.