Vegetable oil composition containing palm mid-fraction fat and method of reducing plasma cholesterol

Abstract

A method and composition for reducing the cholesterolemic effect in mammals of ingesting a blended nutritional fat composition containing a palm mid-fraction (PMF) hardstock fat combined with an unsaturated vegetable oil. The composition is solid or semi-solid at 20° C. and fluid at 35° C., and includes between 15% and 45% by weight linoleic acid. The weight ratio of disaturated triglyceride (DST) molecules to trisaturated triglyceride (TST) molecules is greater than 10:1, and the PMF hardstock fat contains approximately 50% to 95% by weight DST molecules, the majority of which contain either palmitic acid or a combination of palmitic and stearic acids at the sn-1 and sn-3 triglyceride positions and either oleic acid or linoleic acid at the sn-2 molecular position.

1 . A method of preparing a blended nutritional fat composition that is hardened with saturated fat, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) selecting at least one triglyceride-based palm mid-fraction fat containing between about 60% and about 95% by weight of disaturated triglycerides and less than 6% by weight of trisaturated triglycerides, wherein more than 50 mol % of the disaturated triglycerides contain either palmitic acid or a combination of palmitic acid and stearic acid at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions and either oleic acid or linoleic acid at the sn-2 position; and   (b) mixing the at least one palm mid-fraction fat and at least one triglyceride-based unsaturated vegetable oil to form the composition;   wherein the fat portion of the composition contains from 10% to 24% by weight of said at least one palm mid-fraction fat and from 60% to 90% by weight of said at least one unsaturated vegetable oil;   wherein the linoleic acid content of the composition is from 15% to 45% by weight based on the total weight of fatty acids in the composition;   wherein the composition is solid or semi-solid at 20° C. and fluid at 35° C.; and   wherein the composition is substantially free of synthetic trans-fatty acids.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the disaturated triglyceride content of the composition is from 8% to 23% by weight based on the total weight of triglycerides in the composition. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the disaturated triglyceride content of the composition is from 8% to 20% by weight based on the total weight of triglycerides in the composition. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of said disaturated triglycerides to trisaturated triglycerides in the composition is greater than 10:1. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content of (myristic acid+lauric acid) in the composition is less than 10% by weight based on the total weight of fatty acids in the composition. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one palm mid-fraction fat is selected such that more than 60 mol % of the disaturated triglycerides of the palm mid-fraction fat contain either palmitic acid or a combination of palmitic acid and stearic acid at the sn-1 and sn-3 positions and either oleic acid or linoleic acid at the sn-2 position, and wherein the linoleic acid content of the composition is from 15% to 40% by weight based on the total weight of fatty acids. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one palm mid-fraction fat contains from about 65% to about 95% by weight of disaturated triglycerides based on the total triglycerides in the at least one palm mid-fraction fat. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one palm mid-fraction fat contains from about 70% to about 90% by weight of disaturated triglycerides based on the total triglycerides in the at least one palm mid-fraction fat. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one palm mid-fraction fat contains from about 75% to about 90% by weight of disaturated triglycerides based on the total triglycerides in the at least one palm mid-fraction fat. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fat portion of the composition contains from 10% to 23% by weight of said at least one palm mid-fraction fat. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fat portion of the composition contains from 10% to 22% by weight of said at least one palm mid-fraction fat. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fat portion of the composition contains from 10% to 20% by weight of said at least one palm mid-fraction fat. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the composition contains from 10% to 20% by weight of said at least one palm mid-fraction fat and from 80% to 90% by weight of said at least one unsaturated vegetable oil, and wherein the disaturated triglyceride content of the composition is from 8% to 18% by weight based on the total weight of triglycerides of the composition. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fat portion of the composition contains from 75% to 90% by weight of said at least one unsaturated vegetable oil. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the palm mid-fraction fat or the vegetable oil was obtained by supplementing one or more natural fats or oils with one or more fat components isolated from a natural fat, or with a chemically modified fat component, or with a synthetic fat component. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the composition is substantially free of chemically modified vegetable oils and/or fats. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the nutritional fat composition consists essentially of said at least one palm mid-fraction fat and said unsaturated vegetable oil. 
     
     
         19 . A method of producing a processed food product, the method comprising mixing a blended nutritional fat composition comprising:
 at least one triglyceride-based palm mid-fraction fat; and   at least one triglyceride-based unsaturated vegetable oil;
 wherein the fat portion of the composition contains from 10% to 24% by weight of said at least one palm mid-fraction fat and from 60% to 90% by weight of said at least one unsaturated vegetable oil; 
 wherein the linoleic acid content of the composition is from 15% to 45% by weight based on the total weight of fatty acids in the composition; 
 wherein the composition is solid or semi-solid at 20° C. and fluid at 35° C.; and 
 wherein the composition is substantially free of synthetic trans-fatty acids, with one or more edible ingredients to obtain a processed food product. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein said one or more edible ingredients is selected from the group consisting of water, emulsifiers, proteins, phytosterols, fibers, salts, antioxidants, vitamins, flavorings, colorings, and preservatives. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the processed food product is selected from the group consisting of margarines, table spreads, baking shortenings, frying shortenings, mayonnaise, salad dressings, baked goods, fried goods, filled dairy products, and fat-containing confections.