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Effects of Lipid Structure Changed by Interesterification on Melting Property and Lipemia

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Lipids

Abstract

Interesterification or the randomization reaction changes fatty acid positional distribution and solid fat content of fats, which may consequently affect fat absorption and metabolism. It is well established that saturated fatty acids in the sn-2 position of triacylglycerols (TAG) have better digestibility and lower postprandial chylomicron clearance compared to those in the sn-1,3 positions in animal experiments. TAG structure is also shown to affect fasting lipid level and atherosclerosis in animals, but fat interesterification it has been shown to not affect fasting lipid level in human adults. However, its effect on postprandial responses is controversial. In this review, the complex results of studies of interesterification and lipemia were briefly discussed. More importantly, the confounding of two factors that are both changed by interesterification, TAG structure and solid fat content as the main limitation on understanding how interesterification affects lipemia is emphasized. Separation of the two factors is possible using paired fats as demonstrated. This paper also discusses some intriguing effects of fats having saturated fatty acids in the sn-2 position and the need for future research.

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Abbreviations

CE:

Cholesteryl ester

CIE:

Chemically interesterified fat

EIE:

Enzymatically interesterified fat

FVIIa:

The activated form of FVIIc

FVIIc:

Factor VII coagulant

HDL:

High density lipoprotein

IE:

Interesterified fat

LPL:

Lipoprotein lipase

MAG:

Monoacylglycerols

mM:

Milli-molar concentration

MP:

Melting point

NA:

Not available

NIE:

Non-interesterified fat

P:

Probability

POS:

P (palmitic acid), O (oleic acid), an S (stearic acid) esterified on the sn-1, 2 and 3 position of the glycerol. Other expressions use the same notation

SMP:

Slip melting point

sn:

Stereospecific numbering

TAG:

Triacylglycerols

VLDL:

Very low density lipoprotein

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by “The Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grants No: BK20150137)” and “Program of Science and Technology Department of Jiangsu Province (Grants No: BY2016022-33)”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, 2312 Food Science Building, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Tong Wang & Xiaosan Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, 214122, Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaosan Wang & Xingguo Wang

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  1. Tong Wang
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  3. Xingguo Wang
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Correspondence to Tong Wang or Xiaosan Wang.

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Wang, T., Wang, X. & Wang, X. Effects of Lipid Structure Changed by Interesterification on Melting Property and Lipemia. Lipids 51, 1115–1126 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-016-4184-3

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