Effect of diets high in carbohydrate, soy oil, medium-chain triglycerides or tripelargonin on blood and liver lipid and glucose intermediates in meal-eating rats.

Medium-chain odd carbon fats have been reported to be ketogenic as have medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). Such an odd carbon fat, tripelargonin, was compared to MCT for its effect on ketogenic and glucogenic intermediates when fed as a part of a complete diet to meal-eating rats. Isonitrogenous diets containing, as 68% of the calories, soy oil (SO), MCT, tripelargonin (C9TG) were fed 2 hours twice a day. After 4 weeks, the C9TG rats during meals had blood and liver beta-hydroxybutyrate levels approximately 300 and 125%, respectively, of the fasting levels and similar to the prandial SO-fed levels. These levels were significantly less than the 1,000 and 500% elevations observed in the MCT-fed rats. Prandial blood glucose and liver glycogen levels were similar in the C9TG and SO-fed rats; whereas, these intermediates appeared to remain at or drop below the fasting levels in the MCT-fed animals. Levels of plasma non-esterified fatty acids and liver glucose-6-phosphate in the MCT and C9TG were similar and different from the SO-fed values. The results point to the uniqueness of C9TG when compared to even-numbered triglycerides under these dietary conditions.