Effect of palm olein intake on lipid profile and appetite regulation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The chemical structure of a lipid determines its effect on blood lipid profile and appetite regulation.
IRAS ID
198471
Contact name
Gary Frost
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Over the past decade there has been a substantial rise in knowledge of the effects of different fats on health and wellbeing.
The World Health Organisation recognises that categorising fats purely by the number of double bonds: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated has many limitations. Individual fatty acids within each group has distinct biological properties and different effects on health.
Saturated fat (SFA) is widely used in food products, but is thought of as "bad" fat, because it has been found to raise cholesterol concentration. However studies show that cocoa butter, a highly saturated fat (67% saturated) has neutral effect on serum cholesterol level in human subjects.
Chemical structure of fat determines its physical characteristics, which in turn affects its absorption, lipid metabolism and fat distribution in tissues. The different digestibility and absorption of fatty acid at different position on the triglyceride backbone might be the reason for the neutral effect of some
saturated fats.
Palm oil is currently the mostly widely used vegetable oil, found in 50% of products on supermarket shelves and its popularity is rising. Its interesterified form is used instead of unhealthy trans fats in cakes and biscuits. Palm oil has similar proportions of saturated, mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids to lard and animal fat, but they have a different chemical structure, which might explain why palm olein behaves similarly to monounsaturated fat in its effect on cholesterol level.
The current study aims to investigate the acute effect of palm oil on blood lipid profile.
Fats are known to stimulate the release of specific hormones in the gut that lead to feelings of fullness and help control appetite. Little research exists as to whether fatty acid composition influences this hormone release. This study will also consider whether the fatty acid structure of palm oil influences the production of appetite regulatory hormones.REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
16/WA/0117
Date of REC Opinion
30 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion