Short-Term Feeding Studies on Acetin Fats

Abstract

The nutritive value of mono- and diacetin fats prepared from completely or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils has been measured in a series of studies on weanling male rats. The gains in body weight and food consumption of animals fed these fats at relatively high levels were essentially the same as those of animals fed the corresponding conventional triglycerides. The levels of a number of blood and urine constituents of the rats fed the experimental and control fats were also of the same order of magnitude. The long-chain fatty acids of a diacetin fat prepared from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils were absorbed as well as those of the conventional triglyceride from which it was prepared. On the other hand, the coefficient of utilization of stearic acid was markedly increased over that of tristearin by incorporating this fatty acid into a diacetin fat molecule. These studies show that acetin fats derived from the usual edible triglycerides are nutritious materials.