Reviews of medium- and long-chain triglyceride with respect to nutritional benefits and digestion and absorption behavior

With the progress in the study of functional lipid, interest has turned recently to the medium- and long-chain triglyceride (MLCT) obtained by modification of natural oil. From a health perspective, MLCT not only provides us with the essential fatty acids, but, more importantly, it also reduces body fat accumulation, improves insulin resistance and plays an important role in clinical nutritional treatment. The potential effectiveness of MLCT in the human body is influenced mainly by its digestion and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. However, the current understanding of the digestion and absorption mechanism of MLCT is still not comprehensive. This review first presents the nutritional properties, digestion and absorption of MLCT. Then it will focus on the effects of MLCT compositions and structures (eg, fatty acid chain length, saturation, and location distribution) on its digestion and absorption process for a better understanding of its nutritional properties. This review also presents the synthesis methods and current application status of MLCT. Finally, the advantages, challenges and future prospects of MLCT are discussed. With its potential health benefits, MLCT is widely being used as nutraceutical in food and pharmaceutical sectors. In the future, the purpose of modifying the digestion and absorption of MLCT can be realized by structural design and other means, to achieve nutritional supplement and precise therapy.