Sucrose polyesters, effect

After 20 years and more than 200 million in research and development, Proctor Gamble received permission from the FDA in 1996 to market its fat substitute Olestra in certain snack foods (e.g., potato chips, crackers, and cheese puffs). Olestra, technically a sucrose polyester, is not digestible, so it adds neither fat nor calories to food. However, Olestra can inhibit the absorption of certain fat-soluble vitamins and other nutrients. Therefore, all products containing Olestra must be labeled with the following information This product contains Olestra. Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Vitamins A, D, E, and K have been added. Also, as a condition of approval, Proctor Gamble must monitor consumption and conduct studies on Olestra s long-term effects. 

Crouse and Grundy (58) also studied the effects of sucrose polyester on cholesterol metabolism in obese men. In this study, 11 overweight men were fed low-calorie (1000 kcal/day), low cholesterol (19 mg/day) diets containing 21% of calories from fat with and without 62 g of olestra per day for six-week periods. Beyond the 20% decrease in plasma cholesterol caused by weight loss, olestra feeding resulted in another 12.5% reduction in plasma cholesterol in six subjects, but had no significant effect on plasma cholesterol in the other five subjects. Grundy et al. (59) reported that in nondiabetic patients, calorie-restricted diet plus sucrose... 

Sucrose polyesters have no primary ester bonds and are not digested. As a result, they remain in the oil phase and are not taken up and are excreted with the stools. In the small intestine, they have some effect on the partitioning of fat-soluble components between the emulsion and micellar phase and as a consequence on their absorption. Reduced absorption of fat-soluble vitamins can be avoided by enriching the sucrose polyesters with these vitamins. Their main use is related to the fact that they can replace usual food fats in many prepared foods but that they do not provide for calories. 

The U.S. diet, as well as diets of many industrialized nations, is rich in calories contributed by oils and fats. Technological innovations are, therefore, directed toward finding low- or no-calorie substitutes that will perform like normal oils and fats and that do not affect the aesthetic or health values of food products (83-85). The manufacturers of many of these synthetic fats must still establish that the substitutes are fit for human consumption. Even sucrose polyesters, which have been shown to be safe for food use and have been granted FDA approval for certain foods, still have not gained significant use in food products because of certain side effects. Other attempts to improve on the nutritional significance of salad and cooking oils have been made (86, 87). 

Effect of Sucrose Polyesters and Sucrose Polyester-Lecithins on Crystallization Rate of Vegetable Ghee... 

Some oil-soluble emulsifiers affect the crystallization process and development of polymorphic forms of fats (4-8). Sucrose fatty acid ester or sucrose polyesters (SPE) and lecithins are well-known food emulsifiers (9,10). The main characteristics of lecithins and SPE useful in food applications are their oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsifying properties, that result in dispersion with condensed milk and coffee whitener, and prevention of blooming in candy products and chocolate (7,9-11). But there are very few reports about two effects of SPE on the crystallization of fats and oils, i.e., enhancement and inhibition (12,13). 

In fact, Procter Gamble has faced a number of obstacles in marketing products made with sucrose polyester. A number of questions have been raised about possible health effects of the compound, and very few products containing sucrose polyester are currently available in the marketplace. 

Procter Gamble had high hopes for Olestra when it was first introduced to the marketplace in the late 1990s. Public reaction was very positive at first. However, enthusiasm for the new product began to die off rather quickly. Olestra-containing products earned the company 400 million in 1998, but only two years later, sales had dropped to 200 million. One concern is that Olestra may have undesirable health effects on some individuals. These effects include bloating, diarrhea, cramps, loose stools, and urgency of defecation. The compound also appears to interfere with the absorption of certain vitamins. When the FDA approved Olestra for use in the United States, it added the requirement that vitamins A, D, E, and also be added to counteract this effect. The future status of sucrose polyester is, at this point, somewhat in douht. 

A single case report suggests that the concurrent use of orlistat and sucrose polyesters (Olestra - used in some foods as a fat substitute) can result in additive gastrointestinal adverse effects (soft, fatty/oily stools, increased flatus and abdominal pain). In the case in question, symptoms resolved when the patient stopped eating Ofesfra-containing food while continuing to take orlistat. ... 

A single 5-mg dose of diazepam was given to 8 healthy subjects with 18 g of sucrose polyester (Olestra). Sucrose polyester had no effect on the pharmacokinetics of diazepam. Sucrose polyesters, are non-absorbable, non-calorific fat replacements. It has been concluded that sucrose polyesters are unlikely to reduce the absorption of oral drugs in general. ... 

Thus, the polyol nature has a marked effect on the fire resistance, which is in fact the order of thermostability. The most thermostable polyols lead to polyurethanes with improved fire resistance. Thus, polyesters are superior to polyethers in so far as the fire resistance of the resulting polyurethanes is concerned. Cycloaliphatic polyols (for example polyols based on carbohydrates, such as sucrose or alkyl glucosides) produce polyurethanes with superior fire resistance as compared to the simple aliphatic polyols (for example polyether based on glycerol or on pentaerythritol). 

The hydrolysable ones have a structure of polyesters with two essential constituents — saccharide and phenolcarboxylic acid. Under the effect of hydrolytic agents (acids, enzymes, alkalies) they split into the original components. Thus, gallotannines provide — in addition to the sucrose component — also gallic acid, and elagitannines provide hexahydroxydiphenyl... 

Concern over the health and nutrition of the public, particularly over the average fat intake of most Americans, has prompted food chemists and technologists to develop a variety of fat replacers. The objective has been to discover substances that have the taste and mouth-feel of a real fat, but do not have deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system. One product that has recently appeared in certain snack foods is olestra (marketed under the trade name Olean, by the Procter and Gamble Company). Olestra is not an acylglycerol rather, it is composed of a molecule of sucrose that has been substituted by long-chain fatty acid residues. It is a polyester, and the body s enzyme systems are not capable of attacking it and catalyzing its breakdown into smaller molecules. 

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