Trial Information

Healthy FAT (Fatty Acids in Transition) Study

Commonly consumed vegetable fats and oils are comprised predominantly of TAG, and small
amounts of DAG and monoacylglycerol. TAG consists of 3 fatty acid ester, whereas
diacylglycerol oil has 2 fatty acid esters linked to a glycerol backbone. Recently, Watanabe
et al., developed a process by which the ratio of glycerides found in plant oils such as
soybean, canola (rapeseed), or corn can be shifted from TAG to DAG, leading to the formation
of oil composed largely of DAG. Commercially, DAG oil is produced by esterification of fatty
acids derived from natural edible plant oils in the presence of lipase enzyme. Commercially
produced vegetable DAG oil contains >80% DAG, <20% TAG, <5% monoacylglycerols, and small
amounts of emulsifiers and antioxidants to maintain quality. The main constituent fatty
acids of DAG oil are oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), and linolenic (C18:3) acids, present
as 1,3- and 1,2 (or 2,3)-DAGs in a ratio of 7:3, respectively. These structural differences
may be responsible for the purported metabolic effects of DAG compared to TAG oil, DAG oil
has fewer fatty acids than TAG, and DAG-oil with a greater proportion of DAG in the sn-1,3
versus sn-1,2 form may be more readily oxidized. Thus, the effects of DAG oil on increasing
LDL-C would be expected to be less than TAG oil.