Effect of positional distribution of palmitic acid in triglycerides on the absorption of the nutrition in rats

The impacts of the position of palmitic acid in triglyceride on the absorption of fatty acids and mineral were studied. Feeding experiment was performed by using four groups of young male Wistar rats. Fat raw materials with different proportions of sn-2 position palmitic acid were added into fat-free diets which were the OPO (1 , 3 - dioleoyl - 2 - palmitoyl triglyceride ) structural fat , the vegetable oil mixture with imitating the composition of OPO, the infant formula containing OPO and the common infant formula. The proportions of the experimental fat in each groups were all 10% , as for the sn -2 position palmitic acid in four groups were respectively 45.40% , 13.29% , 48.04% , and 28.66% . After 2 weeks feeding, the contents of lipid, calcium and magnesium in the fecal were analyzed. The results showed that the fat absorption after intake of OPO and the infant formula containing OPO were higher than the other two groups significantly with much less calcium excreting. In conclusion, high content of sn-2 position palmitic acid could promote the absorption of fat in rats, reduce the formation of fatty acid soap and improve the calcium absorption.