 | This article needs to be updated.(April 2022) |
Diacylglycerol oil (DAG oil) is a cooking oil in which the ratio of triglycerides, also known as Triacylglycerols (TAGs), to diacylglycerols (DAGs) is shifted to contain mostly DAG, unlike conventional cooking oils, which are rich in TAGs. Vegetable DAG oil, for example, contains 80% DAG [1] and is used as a 1:1 replacement for liquid vegetable oils in all applications. [2]
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DAGs and TAGs are natural components in all vegetable oils. Through an enzymatic process, the DAG content of a combination of soy and canola oils is significantly increased. Unlike TAG, which is stored as body fat, DAG is immediately burned as energy.[ citation needed ] With DAG-rich oil containing more than 80% DAG, less of the oil is stored as body fat than with traditional oils, which are rich in TAG. Excess calories consumed by the body are converted into fat and stored, regardless if it is consumed as DAG or TAG.
According to a 2007 study, [3] Diacylglycerol (DAG) oil is present with vegetable oil. A study in 2004 indicated that DAG oil is effective for both fasting and postprandial hyperlipidemia; according to the same study, it helped prevent excess adiposity. [4]
DAG oil was designated as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by an outside panel of scientific experts, and their conclusion has been reviewed and accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This GRAS determination is for use in vegetable oil spreads and home cooking oil. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has approved DAG oil to manage serum triglycerides after a meal, which leads to less build-up of body fat.
Because DAG oil is digested the same way as conventional vegetable oils, the potential side effects are no different than those of conventional oil. In addition, studies with animals and human subjects have shown no adverse effects from single-dose or long-term consumption of DAG-rich oil. It has also been found that fat-soluble vitamins' status is not affected by the consumption of DAG-rich oil. [5]
 | This section needs more reliable medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources .(May 2015) |  |
Studies indicate that DAG oil has numerous health benefits, including reducing post-meal blood triglyceride levels. [6] [7] [8] Clinical studies in Japan have also shown that DAG oil may increase overall metabolism, helping reduce the amount of fat already stored in the body. [9] [10] [11]
However, the European Food Safety Authority Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies found in 2011 that
a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of DAG oil (as a replacement of TAG oils) and a reduction in body weight. [12] On September 16, 2009, Kao Corporation, maker of Econa Cooking Oil has voluntarily suspended sales of products containing DAG oil in Japan, which include cooking oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and pet food products. [13] The company is cited as considering suspending the sales of Enova Brand Oil sold in North America. [14] On the same day, Hagoromo Foods, maker of Sea Chicken brand of canned tuna, and Satonoyuki, maker of tofu products, have voluntarily suspended number of products made with Econa Cooking Oil sold in Japan. [15] [16]
In its press release announcing the temporally suspension of Econa line of products, Kao cites questions raised by European researchers on the uncertain health effect of glycidyl fatty acid esters (GE). It states that GE contained in the products are introduced as by-product of deodorization process, but maintains that the main ingredient DAG (Diacylglycerol) is proven safe, and says it plans to resume sale after reducing the amount of GE introduced in its production method. [17]
In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that humans and other animals must ingest because the body requires them for good health, but cannot synthesize them.
Margarine is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was originally named oleomargarine from Latin for oleum and Greek margarite. The name was later shortened to margarine.
Coconut oil is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around 25 °C (77 °F), and a clear thin liquid oil in warmer climates. Unrefined varieties have a distinct coconut aroma. Coconut oil is used as a food oil, and in industrial applications for cosmetics and detergent production. The oil is rich in medium-chain fatty acids.
A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched chain of carbon (C) atoms. Along the chain, some carbon atoms are linked by single bonds (-C-C-) and others are linked by double bonds (-C=C-). A double bond along the carbon chain can react with a pair of hydrogen atoms to change into a single -C-C- bond, with each H atom now bonded to one of the two C atoms. Glyceride fats without any carbon chain double bonds are called saturated because they are "saturated with" hydrogen atoms, having no double bonds available to react with more hydrogen.
Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, abbreviated with a lipid number of 18:1 cis-9, and a main product of Δ9-desaturase. It has the formula CH3−(CH2)7−CH=CH−(CH2)7−COOH. The name derives from the Latin word oleum, which means oil. It is the most common fatty acid in nature. The salts and esters of oleic acid are called oleates. It is a common component of oils, and thus occurs in many types of food, as well as in soap.
Omega-6 fatty acids are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon-carbon double bond in the n-6 position, that is, the sixth bond, counting from the methyl end.
In biochemistry and nutrition, a monounsaturated fat is a fat that contains a monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), a subclass of fatty acid characterized by having a double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remaining carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have more than one double bond.
Stanol esters is a heterogeneous group of chemical compounds known to reduce the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in blood when ingested, though to a much lesser degree than prescription drugs such as statins. The starting material is phytosterols from plants. These are first hydrogenated to give a plant stanol which is then esterified with a mixture of fatty acids also derived from plants. Plant stanol esters are found naturally occurring in small quantities in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, cereals, legumes, and vegetable oils.
Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.
Lingual lipase is a member of a family of digestive enzymes called triacylglycerol lipases, EC 3.1.1.3, that use the catalytic triad of aspartate, histidine, and serine to hydrolyze medium and long-chain triglycerides into partial glycerides and free fatty acids. The enzyme, released into the mouth along with the saliva, catalyzes the first reaction in the digestion of dietary lipid, with diglycerides being the primary reaction product. However, due to the unique characteristics of lingual lipase, including a pH optimum 4.5–5.4 and its ability to catalyze reactions without bile salts, the lipolytic activity continues through to the stomach. Enzyme release is signaled by autonomic nervous system after ingestion, at which time the serous glands under the circumvallate and foliate lingual papillae on the surface of the tongue secrete lingual lipase to the grooves of the circumvallate and foliate papillae, co-localized with fat taste receptors. The hydrolysis of the dietary fats is essential for fat absorption by the small intestine, as long chain triacylglycerides cannot be absorbed, and as much as 30% of fat is hydrolyzed within 1 to 20 minutes of ingestion by lingual lipase alone.
Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice called bran. It is known for its high smoke point of 232 °C (450 °F) and mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir frying and deep frying. It is popular as a cooking oil in East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Southern China and Malaysia.
Monoglycerides are a class of glycerides which are composed of a molecule of glycerol linked to a fatty acid via an ester bond. As glycerol contains both primary and secondary alcohol groups two different types of monoglycerides may be formed; 1-monoacylglycerols where the fatty acid is attached to a primary alcohol, or a 2-monoacylglycerols where the fatty acid is attached to the secondary alcohol.
Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are triglycerides with two or three fatty acids having an aliphatic tail of 6–12 carbon atoms, i.e. medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). Rich food sources for commercial extraction of MCTs include palm kernel oil and coconut oil.
Oleochemistry is the study of vegetable oils and animal oils and fats, and oleochemicals derived from these fats and oils. The resulting product can be called oleochemicals (from Latin: oleum "olive oil"). The major product of this industry is soap, approximately 8.9×106 tons of which were produced in 1990. Other major oleochemicals include fatty acids, fatty acid methyl esters, fatty alcohols and fatty amines. Glycerol is a side product of all of these processes. Intermediate chemical substances produced from these basic oleochemical substances include alcohol ethoxylates, alcohol sulfates, alcohol ether sulfates, quaternary ammonium salts, monoacylglycerols (MAG), diacylglycerols (DAG), structured triacylglycerols (TAG), sugar esters, and other oleochemical products.
In organic chemistry glycerolysis refers to any process in which chemical bonds are broken via a reaction with glycerol. The term refers almost exclusively to the transesterification reaction of glycerol with triglycerides (fats/oils) to form mixtures of monoglycerides and diglycerides. These find a variety of uses; as food emulsifiers, 'low fat' cooking oils and surfactants.
A diglyceride, or diacylglycerol (DAG), is a glyceride consisting of two fatty acid chains covalently bonded to a glycerol molecule through ester linkages. Two possible forms exist, 1,2-diacylglycerols and 1,3-diacylglycerols. Diglycerides are natural components of food fats, though minor in comparison to triglycerides. DAGs can act as surfactants and are commonly used as emulsifiers in processed foods. DAG-enriched oil has been investigated extensively as a fat substitute due to its ability to suppress the accumulation of body fat; with total annual sales of approximately USD 200 million in Japan since its introduction in the late 1990s till 2009.
SN2 Palmitate is a structured triglyceride where palmitic acid is bonded to the middle position (sn-2) of the glycerol backbone. Structured triglycerides are achieved through an enzymatic process using vegetable oils. Current usage of structured triglycerides is mainly for infant formula providing a human milk fat substitute.
Cooking oil is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing heat, reducing burning and uneven cooking. It sometimes imparts its own flavor. Cooking oil is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips.
Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fatty acids, is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in foods. Trace concentrations of trans fats occur naturally, but large amounts are found in some processed foods. Since consumption of trans fats is unhealthy, artificial trans fats are highly regulated or banned in many nations. However, they are still widely consumed in developing nations, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a goal to make the world free from industrially produced trans fat by the end of 2023.