A 91-day feeding study in rats with caprenin

Food Chem Toxicol. 1993 Dec;31(12):935-46. doi: 10.1016/0278-6915(93)90002-g.

Abstract

Caprenin, a randomized triglyceride primarily comprising caprylic (C8:0), capric (C10:0), and behenic (C22:0) acids, was administered in a semi-purified diet to weanling Sprague-Dawley rats (25/sex/group) at dose levels of 5.23, 10.23 or 15.00% (w/w) for 91 days. Corn oil was added at 8.96, 5.91 and 3.00%, respectively, to provide essential fatty acids and digestible fat calories. Corn oil alone (12.14%) and a blend of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil plus corn oil (11.21 and 3.13%, respectively) served as controls. All diets were formulated to provide about 4000 kcal/kg of diet and 26.8% of digestible calories from fat by assuming that corn oil, MCT oil, and caprenin provided 9, 7 and 5 kcal/g, respectively. Survival, clinical signs, body weight, feed consumption, feed efficiency, organ weights, organ-to-body-weight ratios, organ-to-brain-weight ratios, haematological values and clinical chemistry parameters were evaluated in all groups. Histopathology of a full complement of tissues was evaluated in the corn oil and MCT oil control groups as well as the high-dose caprenin group. Additional rats (n = 5/sex/group) were included in the study to determine whether there was marked storage of C22:0 in heart, liver or perirenal fat at the end of the 91-day feeding period. No significant differences in body weight gain were measured with the balanced caloric diets, although feed conversion efficiency was reduced in the high-dose caprenin group. No adverse effects from the ingestion of caprenin were detected, nor were significant amounts of C22:0 present in the fat extracted from the selected fat depot sites. These results establish a no-observable-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of more than 15% (w/w) caprenin in the diet (or more than 83% of total dietary fat), which is equal to a mean exposure level of more than 13.2 g/kg/day for male rats and more than 14.6 g/kg/day for female rats.

MeSH terms

  • Adipose Tissue / chemistry
  • Administration, Oral
  • Animal Feed
  • Animals
  • Blood Chemical Analysis
  • Caprylates / toxicity*
  • Colon / drug effects
  • Corn Oil / administration & dosage
  • Decanoic Acids / toxicity*
  • Dietary Fats / administration & dosage
  • Dietary Fats / toxicity*
  • Drug Stability
  • Eating / drug effects
  • Erythrocyte Indices
  • Fatty Acids / analysis
  • Fatty Acids / toxicity*
  • Female
  • Hemoglobins / analysis
  • Kidney / drug effects
  • Kidney / pathology
  • Liver / drug effects
  • Male
  • Organ Size / drug effects
  • Random Allocation
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Triglycerides / administration & dosage
  • Triglycerides / toxicity*
  • Weight Gain / drug effects

Substances

  • Caprylates
  • Decanoic Acids
  • Dietary Fats
  • Fatty Acids
  • Hemoglobins
  • Triglycerides
  • caprenin
  • Corn Oil
  • behenic acid