MON-664 Effects of medium chain triglycerides on the regulation of energy metabolism in mouse hypothalamus

Abstract Disclosure: C. Ebihara: None. K. Ebihara: None. N. Nomoto: None. M. Isoda: None. N. Yahagi: None. We previously reported that oral administration of 1,3-butanediol (BD), a precursor of β-hydroxybutyrate increases blood ketone body and hypothalamic ATP levels, improves endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and leptin resistance in the hypothalamus, and reduces food intake and body weight in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice (Sci Rep 11: 17691, 2021). Medium-chain fatty acid oil (MCT), which is abundant in coconut oil and palm oil, is also known to increase blood ketone body levels like BD. Then, we investigated the effect of daily oral administration of MCT for 8 weeks in DIO mice. However, oral MCT changed neither food intake nor body weight in DIO mice despite the fact that it increased blood ketone body and hypothalamic ATP levels and improved hypothalamic ER stress and leptin resistance. Since it has been reported that MCT promotes acylation of ghrelin, we measured blood level of acylated ghrelin, the active form and found its significant increase in MCT treated DIO mice. These results suggest that oral MCT improves leptin resistance but activates ghrelin, resulting in no change in food intake and body weight in DIO mice. These results of this study provide important information about MCT oil, which has attracted attention as a health food in the diet therapy for obesity and metabolic disorders. Presentation: Monday, July 14, 2025