Storage of medium-chain triglycerides in adipose tissue of orally fed infants

The effect of the fatty acid content of the diet on that of adipose tissue was studied in 5 newborn infants studied prior to feeding and 30 infants fed ad libitum from birth with either human milk or a commercial formula as the sole nutrient. Significant positive linear correlations of dietary intake on adipose tissue content of fatty acids were found for both long- and medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA). Infants stored up to 12% of MCFAs in their subcutaneous fat. The technique of direct transesterification improved the recovery of the volatile MCFAs and could explain the finding that medium-chain triglyceride storage in adipose tissue is more extensive than in previous reports. This study documents that MCFAs are not used solely as a source of energy: they can be reesterified or serve for chain elongation, before being deposited in fat stores.