Interesterified fats: What are they and why are they used? A briefing report from the Roundtable on Interesterified Fats in Foods

The authors hypothesize that consumption of interesterified fats may be the cause of the continuous increase in cardiovascular deaths in the United States which began in 2011. Interesterification is a method of producing solid fats from vegetable oil and began to supplant partial hydrogenation for this purpose upon recognition of the danger of trans fats to cardiovascular health. Long, straight carbon chains, as are present in saturated and trans fatty acids, decrease the fluidity of the erythrocyte cell membrane, which decreases erythrocyte deformability and increases blood viscosity. This decrease in cell membrane fluidity is caused by increased van der Waals interactions, which also solidify dietary fats. Elevated blood viscosity is favored as the pathogenic mechanism by which trans fats increase cardiovascular mortality because changes in lipoprotein levels do not account for all the mortality attributable to their consumption. The rapid changes in cardiovascular mortality noted with the introduction and withdrawal of trans fats from the food supply are reviewed. The evidence implicating elevated blood viscosity in cardiovascular disease is also reviewed. Data regarding the production and consumption of interesterified fats in the US should be released in order to determine if there is an association with the observed increase in cardiovascular deaths.

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Storage stability study of margarines produced from enzymatically interesterified fats compared to margarines produced by conventional methods. I. Physical properties

European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology ◽

10.1002/ejlt.200501198 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 107 (7-8) ◽

pp. 530-539 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Hong Zhang ◽

Charlotte Jacobsen ◽

Jens Adler-Nissen

Keyword(s):

Physical Properties ◽

Storage Stability ◽

Stability Study ◽

Conventional Methods ◽

Interesterified Fats

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Interesterified Fats Induce Deleterious Effects on Adipose Tissue and Liver in LDLr-KO Mice

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11020466 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 466 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Maria Lavrador ◽

Milessa Afonso ◽

Dennys Cintra ◽

Marcia Koike ◽

Valeria Nunes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Lipid Metabolism ◽

Tissue Expansion ◽

Inflammatory Cells ◽

Neutrophil Infiltration ◽

Collagen Content ◽

Protein Levels ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Interesterified Fats ◽

Liver Collagen

Interesterified fats are being widely used by the food industry in an attempt to replace trans fatty acids. The effect of interesterified fats containing palmitic or stearic acids on lipid metabolism and inflammatory signaling pathways in adipose and hepatic tissues was evaluated. Male LDLr-KO mice were fed a high-fat diet containing polyunsaturated (PUFA), palmitic (PALM), palmitic interesterified (PALM INTER), stearic (STEAR), or stearic interesterified (STEAR INTER) fats for 16 weeks. The expression of genes and protein levels involved in lipid metabolism and inflammatory processes in liver and white adipose tissue was determined by quantitative RT-PCR and by Western blot, respectively. The infiltration of inflammatory cells in hepatic and adipose tissues was determined by eosin and hematoxylin, while liver collagen content was determined by Sirius Red staining. Both interesterified fats increased liver collagen content and JNK phosphorylation. Additionally, the STEAR INTER group developed nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) associated with higher neutrophil infiltration. PALM INTER induced adipose tissue expansion and enlargement of adipocytes. Furthermore, PALM INTER triggered increased IKK phosphorylation and TNFα protein content, conditions associated with the upstream activation of the NFkB signaling pathway. STEAR INTER induced NASH, while PALM INTER triggered hepatic fibrosis and adipocyte hypertrophy with inflammatory response in LDLr-KO mice.

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The determination of the true digestibilities of interesterified fats in young pigs

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1079/bjn19680076 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 651-660 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

C. P. Freeman ◽

D. W. Holme ◽

E. F. Annison

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Oleic Acid ◽

Coconut Oil ◽

Soya Bean ◽

Conventional Procedure ◽

Young Pigs ◽

High Level ◽

Interesterified Fats ◽

Good Agreement

1. The true digestibilities of esterified lauric, palmitic, stearic and oleic acids in lard, coconut oil and soya-bean oil were determined by incorporating the [1-14C]-labelled acids into the fats by interestification. The true digestibilities of the labelled fats also were compared with the digestibilities of their unlabelled counterparts, corrected for endogenous fat by the conventional procedure.2. The true and corrected coefficients of digestibility of each of the fats were in good agreement, but there were significant differences between the true and corrected coefficients for individual fatty acids, particularly for palmitic and stearic acids.3. The amount of endogenous fat produced with each of the fats calculated from the values found with the labelled fatty acids was greatest when the fat supplement was lard, when a disproportionately high level of palmitic acid was excreted.4. Evidence was obtained of the extensive hydrogenation of oleic acid in the digestive tract of the pig.

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