Modulation of postprandial lipaemia by a single meal containing a commonly consumed interesterified palmitic acid-rich fat blend compared to a non-interesterified equivalent

PURPOSE: Interesterification of palm stearin and palm kernal (PSt/PK) is widely used by the food industry to create fats with desirable functional characteristics for applications in spreads and bakery products, negating the need for trans fatty acids. Previous studies have reported reduced postprandial lipaemia, an independent risk factor for CVD, following interesterified (IE) palmitic and stearic acid-rich fats that are not currently widely used by the food industry. The current study investigates the effect of the most commonly consumed PSt/PK IE blend on postprandial lipaemia. METHODS: A randomised, controlled, crossover (1 week washout) double-blind design study (n = 12 healthy males, 18–45 years), compared the postprandial (0–4 h) effects of meals containing 50 g fat [PSt/PK (80:20); IE vs. non-IE] on changes in plasma triacylglycerol (TAG), glucose, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), peptide YY (PYY), insulin, gastric emptying (paracetamol concentrations) and satiety (visual analogue scales). RESULTS: The postprandial increase in plasma TAG was higher following the IE PSt/PK versus the non-IE PSt/PK, with a 51 % greater incremental area under the curve [mean difference with 95 % CI 41 (23, 58) mmol/L min P = 0.001]. The pattern of lipaemia was different between meals; at 4-h plasma TAG concentrations declined following the IE fat but continued to rise following the non-IE fat. Insulin, glucose, paracetamol, PYY and GIP concentrations increased significantly after the test meals (time effect; P < 0.001 for all), but did not differ between test meals. Feelings of fullness were higher following the non-IE PSt/PK meal (diet effect; P = 0.034). No other significant differences were noted. CONCLUSIONS: Interesterification of PSt/PK increases early phase postprandial lipaemia (0–4 h); however, further investigation during the late postprandial phase (4–8 h) is warranted to determine the rate of return to baseline values. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02365987. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00394-016-1284-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.