Dietary triacetin, but not medium chain triacylglycerides, blunts weight gain in diet‐induced rat model of obesity

Abstract

Consumption of a Western diet (WD) is known to increase the risk of obesity. Short or medium chain fatty acids influence energy metabolism, and triacetin, a synthetic short chain triacylglyceride, has been shown to lower body fat under normal conditions. This study aimed to investigate if triacetin as part of a WD modifies rat weight and body fat. Male rats were fed a control diet or WD for 8 weeks. At week 8, rats in the WD group were maintained on a WD diet or switched to a WD diet containing 30% energy from medium‐chain triacylglyceride (WD‐MCT) or triacetin (WD‐T) for another 8 weeks. At week 16, rats were euthanized and liver, adipose and blood were collected. Tissue fatty acids (FAs) were quantified by gas chromatography (GC) and hepatic FAs were measured by GC‐combustion‐isotope ratio mass spectrometry for δ13C‐palmitic acid (PAM)—a novel marker of de novo lipogenesis (DNL). Rats fed WD‐T had a body weight not statistically different to the control group, and gained less body weight than rats fed WD alone. Furthermore, WD‐T fed rats had a lower fat mass, and lower total liver and plasma FAs compared to the WD group. Rats fed WD‐T did not differ from WD in blood ketone or glucose levels, however, had a significantly lower hepatic δ13C‐PAM value than WD fed rats; suggestive of lower DNL. In summary, we show that triacetin has the potential to blunt weight gain and adipose tissue accumulation in a rodent model of obesity, possibly due to a decrease in DNL.