Volume 48 (1999) Issue 10 Pages 971-980,1194
The nutritive values of fats and oils have been usually discussed on their fatty acid composition. However, the arrangement of fatty acids on the glycerol backbone of triacylglycerols of natural fats have been indicated to be responsible for not only absorbability of fatty acids but also specific effects on lipid metabolism. The structured lipids which have been restructured to change position of fatty acids and modified to change fatty acid composition from native state have been developed to deliver specific fatty acids that can ameliorate some of disease states. The typical structured lipids are triacylglycerols containing mixtures of medium chain and long chain fatty acids in the same glycerol molecule in order to exhibit their maximum potency.