Satiety effects of intragastric meals containing triglycerides with different chain lengths

Intragastric meals containing triglycerides with chain length of 2-18 significantly reduced intake in deprived Sprague-Dawley rats feeding 20 min after infusion. Satiety after long-chain triglyceride (LCT) infusions must have been mediated via a gastroenteric signal, since feeding was reduced prior to delivery of these fats into the bloodstream. Equicaloric infusions of triglycerides with chain length of 6 to 18 had similar inhibitory effects, indicating that the satiety effects of these triglycerides depended more on the number of calories infused than on chain length. Shorter-chain triglycerides were initially more effective in reducing feeding. Except for a poorly absorbed LCT the infusions did not result in conditioned taste aversion and thus did not appear to induce discomfort. Gastric recovery of a nonabsorbable marker at the time of the feeding test indicated that gastric emptying, like satiety, was related to the caloric properties of the infusions. These effects could be mediated through neural and/or hormonal mechanisms that are stimulated through energy-related properties of triglycerides.