Effects of medium- and long-chain triacylglycerols on adipose tissue metabolism in the obese Zucker rat.

The influence of a diet including 18 per cent by weight of long-chain (LCT) or medium-chain (MCT) triacylglycerols on adipose tissue development, and on in-vitro adipose tissue triacylglycerol (TG) synthesis from glucose and palmitic acid, was studied using genetically obese, fa/fa, and control, Fa/-, Zucker rats. The adipose tissue mass was greater with the LCT diet than with either the MCT or control diets, but there was no significant difference between the MCT and control diets. TG synthesis from labelled substrates was not modified by the MCT diet when compared with the control, but was decreased by the LCT diet. The results suggested that the use of MCT in treating human obesity would necessitate levels too high to be therapeutically practical.