Analysis of liver tissue for olestra following long-term feeding to rats and monkeys.

The potential for olestra to be absorbed and to accumulate in tissues was investigated by analysing liver tissue from rats and monkeys in long-term feeding studies using sensitive chromatographic methods. Studies with intravenously administered olestra indicated that absorbed olestra is predominantly taken up by the liver. In monkeys, 74% of the injected dose was detected in the liver, as intact olestra, 48 hr after dosing. In rats, 58-96% of the injected dose was found in the liver, as intact olestra, within 24 hr. No olestra was detected (limit, 34 micrograms/g) in the livers of 14 monkeys fed olestra at 8% of the diet for 29 months. Also, no olestra was found in samples of liver, heart, kidney, spleen, lymph nodes and adipose tissues from 26 monkeys fed olestra at 0, 2, 4 or 6% of the diet, in random order, for consecutive 2-month periods. No olestra was detected in the livers of 47 out of 50 rats fed olestra at levels of up to 9% of the diet for up to 2 years. The amounts (2-4 micrograms/g) detected in the other three rats were near the detection limit of the chromatographic method (1.6 micrograms/g). The results show that accumulation of olestra in the liver, the primary target organ for absorbed olestra, was less than 3 x 10(-6)% of the total amount eaten by rats over 24 months and less than 4 x 10(-5)% of the amount eaten by monkeys over 29 months. These results are consistent with previous studies which showed that olestra is essentially not absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract.

Isomeric fatty acids and tumorigenesis: a commentary on recent work.

This article critically reviews the existing, although limited, literature concerning trans fatty acids and tumorigenesis. Neither epidemiological nor experimental studies published to date have demonstrated any valid association between trans fatty acid ingestion and tumorigenesis. A recent study showed that under controlled conditions, a fat with a high content of trans fatty acids did not promote the development of mammary tumors induced in rats by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene to any greater extent than did a comparable fat with a high content of cis fatty acids. In addition, in this study a high trans fat was less tumor promoting than was a blend of fats that simulated the dietary fat composition of the United States and had a lower level of trans fatty acids. Another study using comparable cis and trans fats demonstrated that the high trans fat did not affect the growth and metastasis of implanted mammary tumors in mice relative to the high cis fat. Also, two recent studies reported no significant difference in the development of induced colon tumors in rats fed diets high in cis or trans fatty acids. The results of these and other studies are consistent with the conclusion that trans fatty acids are not uniquely related to tumor development.

Sucrose polyester and covert caloric dilution.

Total daily caloric intake was measured in 10 obese subjects when sucrose polyester (SPE), a nonabsorbable synthetic fat, covertly replaced conventional fats in a single crossover study consisting of three periods: a period of 7 to 14 days to determine baseline caloric intake and two 20-day study periods. An average of 60 g SPE/day replaced conventional fat in one of the two study periods. During both study periods, 60% of the base line caloric intake was "required intake" at mealtime; an additional 60% of base line caloric intake was allowed as "free choice" foods at a specified snacktime. It was thus possible during both study periods to consume more than 100% of the base line caloric intake. In the SPE study period, 40 g SPE replaced 40 g conventional fat for every 1200 kcal of required intake, resulting in a 30% reduction in mealtime caloric intake. Mean total caloric intake (meal and snack) fell 23% during the SPE period (p less than 0.05), despite an average daily weight loss of 0.18 kg. Snack caloric intake did not increase significantly to compensate for caloric dilution of the meals during the SPE period. These results indicate that the obese may not detect or may not compensate for covert dilution of fat calories with SPE. In addition, during the SPE period, there was a 10% reduction in total plasma cholesterol, a 14% reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and a 10% reduction in triglyceride concentration. Thus, fat replacement with SPE may benefit weight reduction regimens in obese subjects by facilitating decreased caloric intake and by improving the circulating lipoprotein profile as well.

The effect of a non-absorbable fat, sucrose polyester, on the metabolism of vitamin A by the rat.

Sucrose polyester (SPE) is a fat-like material that is not absorbed. The effect of this material on vitamin A metabolism was determined by measuring the amount of the vitamin that was stored in the liver of rats following the ingestion of a known amount of vitamin A. In one study, the vitamin A was administered as an oral dose in a vehicle consisting of various proportions of cottonseed oil and SPE. Each 1% replacement of cottonseed oil by SPE resulted in a 0.26% decrease in the amount of vitamin A found in the liver. In the second study, the vitamin A was incorporated into diets in which the fat component consisted of various proportions of cottonseed oil and SPE. When these diets were consumed for 1 week, each 1% replacement of cottonseed oil by SPE resulted in a 0.84% decrease in the storage of vitamin A by the liver. It is proposed that in the lumen of the intestine vitamin A distributes between the customary micellar phase and the unhydrolyzed oil phase of SPE. The vitamin A in this latter phase is eliminated in the feces.

Effect of hydrogenated fat on the plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels of man.

A group of 33 adult males was fed for 21 days a formula diet that supplied 38 per cent of their calories as fat. The fatty acid composition of the diet was 25 per cent saturates, 16 per cent polyunsaturates and 58 per cent monounsaturates. All of the unsaturated acids were in the cis configuration. The subjects were then divided into two groups. One group of 17 men continued on the same diet. In the diet of the remaining subjects, 80 per cent of the dietary fat was replaced with a hydrogenated fat. Over 60 per cent of the monounstaurated acids and approximately one-half of the polyunsaturated acids of the diet of this latter group were in the trans configuration. Except for the presence or absence of trans acids, the fatty acid intakes of the two groups were the same. Over the 4-week period that the two diets were consumed, the group receiving the hydrogenated fat showed no change in plasma cholesterol or triglyceride levels relative to the subjects consuming the unhydrogenated fat. It is concluded that the effect of a hydrogenated fat on blood lipid level is determined by its fatty acid composition and this effect is not altered by the isomeric form of the unsaturated acids.