Olestra: A Solution to Food Fat?

Abstract

Olestra is a sucrose polyester, the first fat substitute that replaces many of the uses of dietary fat such as in dough conditioning, in sprays, in filling ingredients, in flavors, as well as in frying. However, it is not absorbed in the human digestive system, and therefore, it does not provide any nutrition or energy. It has taste and cooking properties similar to the conventional fats and oils. FDA approved the use of olestra only in limited and specific foods with a listing of fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K) in the ingredient statement of olestra-containing foods followed by an asterisk that is linked to the statement "Dietarily insignificant." This article reviews the physiological, nutritional, health, and environmental effects of the human consumption of olestra.

A sucrose-derived scaffold for multimerization of bioactive peptides

“…6 , Figure 1). 31,32 We reasoned that sucrose-derived molecules might make useful scaffolds for multimerization if ligands and other moieties of interest, such as imaging and therapeutic agents, could be attached to the termini of the fatty acid chains. Additionally, we determined that the 1,4-disubstituted-1 H -1,2,3-triazole groups that are produced via CuAAC map reasonably well onto the cis -1,2-disubstituted alkene groups of unsaturated fatty acid components of Olestra (compare 7 and 8 , Figure 2).…”

Demonstration of a sucrose-derived contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the GI tract

“…With these considerations in mind, our attention was drawn by Olestra ( 1 ), a non-digestible fat substitute derived from sucrose and mixtures of fatty acids. 17,18 We reasoned that this molecule might serve as a useful scaffold if appropriate reporter groups and targeting ligands could be attached to the termini of the fatty acid chains. Olestra contains acid- or base-labile ester links and is a complex mixture of compounds.…”

Reduced-Fat Foods: The Complex Science of Developing Diet-Based Strategies for Tackling Overweight and Obesity

“…These ester bonds are not hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes because of steric hindrance, and so olestra is not absorbed by the human body and does not contribute calories. However, olestra may retard the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and nutraceuticals and may be associated with undesirable GIT symptoms, which led the US FDA to limit the amount that can be used in foods (124,126).…”

“…Two of the most important ingredients that fall into this category are Olestra (Procter & Gamble) and Salatrim (Danisco). Olestra is a sucrose polyester consisting of numerous long-chain FAs esterified to a sucrose molecule (124)(125)(126). These ester bonds are not hydrolyzed by digestive enzymes because of steric hindrance, and so olestra is not absorbed by the human body and does not contribute calories.…”