Medium chain triglycerides: a review of their enteral use in clinical nutrition

This article reviews the enteral use of medium chain triglycerides (MCT) in clinical nutrition. MCT are defined as fatty acids containing 8 and 10 carbon chains, although some contain more or less than this amount. Most commercial enteral products combine MCT with polyunsaturated triglycerides because MCT oil contains no essential fatty acids. MCT differ from long chain triglycerides (LCT) in the mode of digestion, absorption, and metabolism. Because of this, MCT have been used for over 30 years to supply calories to patients with a variety of pancreatic and gastrointestinal disorders. Recipes that include MCT oil and products that contain MCT are available from manufacturers.(lsp).