Biological and Nutritional Properties of Palm Oil and Palmitic Acid: Effects on Health

作者：Annamaria Mancini, Esther Imperlini, Ersilia Nigro, Concetta Montagnese, Aurora Daniele, Stefania Orrù, Pasqualina Buono · 发表于：Molecules · 年份：2015 · DOI：10.3390/molecules200917339 · 被引用次数：559 · 研究领域：Fatty Acid Research and Health、Coconut Research and Applications、Lipid metabolism and biosynthesis

A growing body of evidence highlights the close association between nutrition and human health. Fat is an essential macronutrient, and vegetable oils, such as palm oil, are widely used in the food industry and highly represented in the human diet. Palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid, is the principal constituent of refined palm oil. In the last few decades, controversial studies have reported potential unhealthy effects of palm oil due to the high palmitic acid content. In this review we provide a concise and comprehensive update on the functional role of palm oil and palmitic acid in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The atherogenic potential of palmitic acid and its stereospecific position in triacylglycerols are also discussed.