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Palm olein (POo) has been perceived as atherogenic due to its high proportion of palmitic acid (41.2%) content. It is interesting that most of the palmitic acid of POo is located at stereospecific numbering sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triacylglycerol (TAG) backbone. The present study aims to investigate the effects of positional distribution of fatty acids on the lipid profiles of POo or chemically interesterified palm olein (CIE POo) fed hamsters in comparison to high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) fed hamsters. Male weanling Syrian golden hamsters (n=10 for each group), were fed diets formulated with the above oils for 12 weeks. There was no significant difference between CIE POo and HOSO groups for total cholesterol (TC). CIE POo with increased amount of palmitic acid (43.2%) at sn-2 position did not cause significant increases in TC levels compared to the HOSO group. In addition, the POo group has significantly higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) than that of the HOSO group, P = 0.011 (< 0.05) while the HOSO group has significantly lower total cholesterol (TC) levels than that of the POo group, P = 0.012 (< 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood malnutrition is known as a public health concern globally. The present study aims to assess the anthropometry and blood biochemical status of rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. A total of 776 children (7–11 years old) from ten rural primary schools from five states were included in this study. Nutritional outcomes were assessed based on sex, age group and school categories among the children (median age: 9 years (P25:8, P75:10)). The overall prevalence of malnutrition was 53·4 %. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) was recorded at 20·6 and 39·8 % based on retinol and retinol-binding protein (RBP) levels, respectively. Anaemia, iron deficiency (ID), iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) and elevated inflammation were found at 14·9, 17·9, 9·1 and 11·5 %, respectively. Malnutrition, VAD, anaemia, ID, IDA and elevated inflammation were more prevalent among Orang Asli (OA) schoolchildren compared with Non-Orang Asli schoolchildren. Higher occurrences of VAD and anaemia were also found among children aged <10 years. Retinol, RBP, α -carotene, ferritin and haemoglobin levels were lower among undernourished children. Besides, overweight/obese children exhibited a higher level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that OA school children (adjusted OR (AOR): 6·1; 95 % CI 4·1, 9·0) and IDA (AOR: 3·6; 95 % CI 1·9, 6·6) were associated with stunting among this population. The present study revealed that malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and anaemia are prevalent among rural primary schoolchildren in Malaysia, especially those from OA schools and younger age children (<10 years). Hence, more appropriate and targeted measures are needed to improve the nutritional status of these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of solid fat content (SFC) of vegetable fats at human body temperature (37°C) has been linked to altered fat digestibility and metabolism. In this study, the possibility of reducing the SFC in chemically interesterified palm olein (CIEPO) while maintaining physical properties similar to native palm olein was explored by dry fractionation. Crystallization at 37°C for 155 min produced a CIEPO olein fraction with total fatty acid composition (FAC) broadly resembling that of native palm olein while the high proportion of sn-2 palmitic acid content was maintained at 39.1%. The CIEPO olein fraction has a reduced SFC at 37°C from 8.6 to 4.2%, overall decreased SFC, slip melting point (SMP) at 33°C, a reduced palmitoyl-palmitoyl-palmitoyl (PPP) from 6.0 to 3.7 mol% and lower heating peaks in thermal profile compared with the untreated CIEPO. Both CIEPO olein fraction and palm olein have broadly similar total FAC and SMP below 37°C but very distinguishable sn-2 palmitic acid content. CIEPO olein fraction and native palm olein can be used as effective comparison in human studies because the differences of both fats in PPP content and SFC at 37°C were narrowed. Practical applications: Previous human studies investigating the effects of positional distribution of fatty acids on postprandial lipaemia (abnormally high lipid levels in blood after meal) have yielded contradictory findings. Most of these studies require the use of interesterified fats to distinguish the difference in the sn-2 fatty acid composition when compared with the untreated form of the fats. The inconsistent findings on lipaemic response from these studies have raised the issue on the importance of using groups of test fats with different positional composition but similar physical characteristics in order to differentiate the effects of positional composition from the physical characteristics of test fats. This study serves as a potential solution to the pairing of test fats with distinguishable sn-2 profile by creating a CIEPO fraction from dry fractionation with lowered SFC at 37°C while maintaining the physical characteristics of its untreated form that is suitable to be used in future human clinical studies. Human lipid nutrition studies comparing natural dietary fats with interesterified fats require pairs of test fats possessing similar physical properties but distinguishable sn-2 specific fatty acids content. In the current study, CIEPO was fractionated into olein and stearin at 37°C. Both native palm olein and the CIEPO olein fraction have similar total C16:0 content and SMP below 37°C but distinguishable sn-2 C16:0 content, whilst the differences of both fats in tripalmitin and SFC at 37°C were narrowed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]