Consumption of an oil composed of medium chain triacyglycerols, phytosterols, and n-3 fatty acids improves cardiovascular risk profile in overweight women

Medium chain triacylglycerols (MCT) have been suggested as efficacious in weight management because they possess greater thermogenic qualities relative to long chain triacylglycerols; however, MCT may also increase circulating lipid concentrations, possibly increasing risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The present objective was to examine the effect of a diet supplemented with a functional oil (FctO) composed of energy expenditure-enhancing MCT (50% of fat), cholesterol-lowering phytosterols (22 mg/kg body weight), and triacylglycerol-suppressing n-3 fatty acids (5% of fat), versus a beef tallow-based diet (BT), on plasma lipid and aminothiol concentrations. In a randomized, single-blind, crossover design, partially-inpatient trial, 17 overweight women consumed each oil as part of a controlled, supervised, targeted energy balance diet for 27 days, with 4 or 8 weeks of washout between phases. Mean plasma total cholesterol concentration was lower (P< .0001), by 9.1%, on FctO (4.37 ± 0.20 mmol/L) versus BT (4.80 ± 0.20 mmol/L). Mean plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was also lower (P< .0001) following FctO (2.39 ± 0.15 mmol/L) versus BT (2.86 ± 0.16 mmol/L), representing a 16.0% difference between diets. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and circulating triacylglycerol concentrations remained unaffected by treatment. Ratios of HDL:LDL and HDL:total cholesterol were higher (P< .01) by 22.0% and 11.0%, respectively, on FctO versus BT. Plasma total homocysteine remained unchanged with FctO, but decreased (P< .05) with control, hence higher (P< .05) end points were observed with FctO (6.95 ± 0.33 μmol/L) versus BT (6.27 ± 0.28 μmol/L). Plasma glutathione increased (P< .05) by 0.44 μmol/L with FctO supplementation. In conclusion, despite equivocal effects on homocysteine levels, consumption of a functional oil composed of MCT, phytosterols, and n-3 fatty acids for 27 days improves the overall cardiovascular risk profile of overweight women.