Driving Out Impurities in MCT Oils

Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) provide health benefits and are commonly used in infant formula, weight management and supplement products. The processing of vegetable oils to create MCTs, however, can lead to the formation of monochloropropanediol/glycidyl esters (MCPD/GE), impurities that have been identified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as hazardous to health and thus have limits for intake. Stepan Company and our Stepan Lipid Nutrition business are committed to providing high quality products that are safe for use. We have developed a patented MCPD/GE mitigation technology that brings MCPD/GE levels below detectable limits in our NEOBEE® MCTs, making them the acceptable for use in infant formula, flavor carriers, weight management and sports nutrition.

Stepan’s MCPD/GE mitigation technology provides a process for reducing, or in some cases, eliminating the harmful impurities from refined oils to provide a product that is essentially free from these undesired byproducts. The process includes both treating oils and/or treating the processing stream used during the processing of refined oils through the addition of one or more bases that react with a fatty acid or fatty acid ester within the triglyceride oil. The resulting compounds react with the MCPD/GE to reduce or eliminate their levels present in the product.

MCTs are ideal for infant formula, weight management and other health products because they can be absorbed by the body much more efficiently than traditional long chain triglycerides (LCTs). This is because LCTs are first dispersed throughout the body through the blood stream and lymphatic fluids, body tissue and the liver, before finally converting to energy.

Conversely, readily digestible MCTs, such as NEOBEE 895, travel directly to the liver and are metabolized in an eighth of the time compared to LCTs, without accumulating in the body as fat. This metabolism route makes NEOBEE 895 an ideal dietary supplement for people suffering from digestive issues as it delivers energy to the body quickly among a variety of other health benefits.

In addition to being carriers of nutrients, MCTs also provide weight loss and weight management benefits. Unlike LCTs that are metabolized after the body has burned available carbohydrates, MCTs are metabolized at the same time as carbohydrates and do not accumulate in the body as fat.

They are also an ideal supplement for those who are interested in adhering to a keto diet as MCTs quickly reach the liver and provide energy through mitochondrial fatty oxidation that produces ketone bodies. The keto diet is a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that puts that body in a metabolic state called ketosis where the fats are converted to ketone bodies (hence “keto” in keto diet). These ketones are what the body then uses for energy instead of carbohydrates.  In addition, ketone bodies are the brain’s only alternatives to glucose as an energy source. And while the brain’s ability to use glucose for energy decreases during aging, ketone metabolism is unaffected. From weight management to providing energy needed for normal brain function, MCTs can meet both needs simultaneously because of their ketogenic properties. 

Contact Us to learn more about the brain and health benefits of MCTs, or visit the Lipid Nutrition page to learn more about Stepan Lipid Nutrition’s diverse product portfolio.

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