Effects of diacylglycerol ingestion on postprandial hyperlipidemia in diabetes.

Background: We previously reported that diacylglycerol (DAG) as compared with triacylglycerol (TAG) suppressed increases in postprandial lipids in healthy volunteers. This study was to investigate the effects of DAG on postprandial lipids, particularly remnant lipoproteins in diabetics.

Methods: Emulsified DAG oil or TAG oil with a fatty acid composition similar to DAG oil was orally administered (30 g fat/m2 of body surface) to moderately controlled six diabetics, with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) below 8%, after fasting for at least 12 h in a randomized crossover manner. Serum cholesterol and TAG, lipids in remnant-like particles (RLP), and other lipid parameters including serum ketone bodies were measured prior to and 2, 4, and 6 h after fat loading.

Results: DAG loading significantly suppressed increases in postprandial serum TAG and lipids in RLP as compared with TAG loading. The incremental area under the curve (IAUC) for serum TAG and that for lipids in RLP with DAG loading were also significantly smaller than those with TAG loading. However, changes in serum levels of insulin, free fatty acids, and ketone bodies during fat loading were essentially the same for DAG and TAG.

Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that substituting DAG intake for TAG may be beneficial to moderately controlled diabetics due to its effect in reducing postprandial hyperlipidemia.