Diacylglycerol oil (DAG oil) is a
cooking oil
Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...
in which the ratio of
triglycerides
A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride'').
Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as we ...
, also known as Triacylglycerols (TAGs), to
diacylglycerol
A diglyceride, or diacylglycerol (DAG), is a glyceride consisting of two fatty acid chains covalently bonded to a glycerol molecule through ester linkages. Two possible forms exist, 1,2-diacylglycerols and 1,3-diacylglycerols. DAGs can act as sur ...
s (DAGs) is shifted to contain mostly DAG, unlike conventional
cooking oil
Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...
s, which are rich in TAGs. Vegetable DAG oil, for example, contains 80% DAG and is used as a 1:1 replacement for liquid
vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...
s in all applications.
How it works
DAGs and TAGs are natural components in all vegetable oils. Through an enzymatic process, the DAG content of a combination of soy and
canola oil
Close-up of canola blooms
Canola flower
Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, i ...
s is significantly increased. Unlike TAG, which is stored as
body fat
Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular en ...
, DAG is immediately burned as energy. With DAG-rich oil containing more than 80% DAG, less of the oil is stored as body fat than with traditional oils, which are rich in TAG. Excess calories consumed by the body are converted into fat and stored, regardless if it is consumed as DAG or TAG.
Study
According to a 2007 Study
Diacylglycerol (DAG) oil is Present with vegetable oil, However, a Recent study (2007 edition) showed (indicates) that the DAG oil is effective for both
fasting
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
and
postprandial hyperlipidemia and according also to same study it helps also to prevent
excess adiposity
Excess may refer to:
* Angle excess, in spherical trigonometry
* Insurance excess, similar to a deductible
* Excess, in chemistry, a reagent that is not the limiting reagent
* "Excess", a song by Tricky from the album '' Blowback''
* ''Excess'' ( ...
FDA designation
DAG oil was designated as
generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by an outside panel of scientific experts, and their conclusion has been reviewed and accepted by the US
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA). This GRAS determination is for use in vegetable oil spreads and home cooking oil. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has approved DAG oil to manage serum
triglycerides
A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride'').
Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as we ...
after a meal, which leads to less build-up of
body fat
Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular en ...
.
Side effects
Because DAG oil is
digested the same way as conventional
vegetable oils
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...
, the potential side effects are no different than those of conventional oil. In addition, studies with animals and human subjects have shown no adverse effects from single-dose or long-term consumption of DAG-rich oil. It has also been found that
fat-soluble vitamin
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutri ...
s' status is not affected by the consumption of DAG-rich oil.
Research
Studies indicate that DAG oil has numerous health benefits, including reducing post-meal blood
triglyceride
A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride'').
Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as w ...
levels. Clinical studies in Japan have also shown that DAG oil may increase overall
metabolism
Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
, helping reduce the amount of fat already stored in the body.
Sales suspended voluntarily
On September 16, 2009, Kao Corporation, maker of Econa Cooking Oil has voluntarily suspended sales of products containing DAG oil in Japan, which include cooking oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and pet food products. The company is cited as considering suspending the sales of Enova Brand Oil sold in North America. On the same day, Hagoromo Foods, maker of Sea Chicken brand of canned tuna, and Satonoyuki, maker of tofu products, have voluntarily suspended number of products made with Econa Cooking Oil sold in Japan.
In its press release announcing the temporally suspension of Econa line of products, Kao cites questions raised by European researchers on the uncertain health effect of
glycidyl fatty acid esters (GE). It states that GE contained in the products are introduced as by-product of
deodorization process, but maintains that the main ingredient DAG (
Diacylglycerol
A diglyceride, or diacylglycerol (DAG), is a glyceride consisting of two fatty acid chains covalently bonded to a glycerol molecule through ester linkages. Two possible forms exist, 1,2-diacylglycerols and 1,3-diacylglycerols. DAGs can act as sur ...
) is proven safe, and says it plans to resume sale after reducing the amount of GE introduced in its production method.
References
{{reflist
Cooking oils