State Key Lab of Food Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
Food Funct. 2022 Jan 4;13(1):131-142. doi: 10.1039/d1fo02795f.
Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) have been widely applied in nutritional supplementation. However, when administered individually or mixed, they were unable to maximize their nutritional value. Hence, EPA-rich medium- and long-chain triacylglycerol (MLCT) was synthesized from MCT and EPA-rich fish oil (FO) by enzymatic transesterification. The fatty acids in triglyceride (TAG) were rearranged which resulted in significant changes in TAG profiles compared to the physical mixture of MCT and FO (PM). EPA-containing MML (MML, MLM and LMM) and LLM (LLM, LML and MLL) type TAGs account for 70.21%. The fate of different oils (MCT, FO, PM, and MLCT) across the gastrointestinal tract was subsequently simulated using an digestion model. The results showed that the physical and structural characteristics of different oils during digestion depended upon the oil type and the microenvironment they were in. After 120 min of small intestine digestion, the degree of hydrolysis for MLCT was higher than that for the other three oils. The final FFA release level was in the following order: MLCT (102.79%) > MCT (95.20%) > PM (85.81%) > FO (74.18%). This can be attributed to the composition and positional distribution of fatty acids in TAGs. What's more, LCFAs (EPA) in MLCT mainly existed in the form of -2 MAG, which was conducive to their subsequent absorption and transport. These results may aid in the future rational design of structural lipids, thereby regulating lipid digestion and maximizing the nutritional value of oils.
中链甘油三酯 (MCT) 和二十碳五烯酸 (EPA) 已广泛应用于营养补充剂。然而，当单独或混合使用时，它们无法最大限度地发挥其营养价值。因此，通过酶促转酯化从 MCT 和富含 EPA 的鱼油 (FO) 合成富含 EPA 的中长链三酰基甘油 (MLCT)。甘油三酯 (TAG) 中的脂肪酸发生重排，与 MCT 和 FO 的物理混合物 (PM) 相比，TAG 谱发生了显著变化。含有 EPA 的 MML (MML、MLM 和 LMM) 和 LLM (LLM、LML 和 MLL) 型 TAG 占 70.21%。随后使用消化模型模拟不同油 (MCT、FO、PM 和 MLCT) 在胃肠道中的命运。结果表明，不同油在消化过程中的物理和结构特性取决于油的类型和它们所处的微环境。小肠消化 120 分钟后，MLCT 的水解程度高于其他三种油。最终 FFA 释放水平按以下顺序排列：MLCT (102.79%) > MCT (95.20%) > PM (85.81%) > FO (74.18%)。这可以归因于 TAG 中脂肪酸的组成和位置分布。此外，MLCT 中的 LCFAs (EPA) 主要以 -2 MAG 的形式存在，这有利于它们随后的吸收和运输。这些结果可能有助于未来合理设计结构脂质，从而调节脂质消化并最大限度地提高油的营养价值。
