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Total Parenteral Nutrition with Short- and Long-Chain Triglycerides: Triacetin Improves Nitrogen Balance in Rats¹

Department of Nutrition, College of Human Ecology and Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 ^* Department of Anesthesiology and Medical Biology, Knoxville Unit, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37920

Little is known about the long-term metabolic effects of parenteral administration of short-chain triglycerides. These studies were undertaken to investigate triacetin, the water-soluble triglyceride of acetate when it is incorporated into nutritionally balanced total parenteral nutrition formulas. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 22) were fed an isovolemic, isocaloric and isonitrogenous diet for 7 d. The lipid energy represented 30% of the nonprotein energy with short-chain triglycerides representing 0, 50 or 90% of the lipid energy. Plasma acetate concentration was determined as well as indicators of protein metabolism: daily and cumulative nitrogen balance, whole body leucine kinetics and rectus muscle and liver fractional protein synthetic rates. No overt toxic effects were observed at any point during the study. As the proportion of short-chain triglycerides in the diet increased from 0 to 50 or 90% of the lipid energy, cumulative nitrogen balance increased 50 or 120%, respectively (P < 0.05). Whole-body and tissue leucine kinetics (determined during the last 2.5 h of the 7-d study) were unaffected by the lipid composition of the diet. Plasma acetate concentration was not significantly different among groups. These results indicate that incorporation of the short-chain triglyceride, triacetin, in nutritionally balanced total parenteral nutrition formulas improves nitrogen balance with no overt toxic effects. These data indicate that triacetin may have a future role as a parenteral nutrient, and that further studies of its use are warranted.

KEY WORDS: • short-chain triglycerides • fatty acids • parenteral nutrition • leucine • rats

¹ Supported in part by the Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Tennessee and Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL.

² To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 18 February 1992. Revision accepted 30 April 1992.