ABSTRACT
I n t ro d u c t i o n In healthy humans, ingested fats are digested and almost completely absorbed (1), entering the blood circulation largely in the form of chylomicrons. Serum triglyceride levels thus increase after the ingestion of a meal containing oil and fat. Serum triglyceride levels decrease as triglyceride in the form of chylomicrons is cleared from the circulation by enzymatic hydrolysis (2) and receptor-mediated uptake, mainly by hepatocytes (3). It takes >8 h for the increased serum triglyceride from ingestion of fatty meals to return to preprandial levels. Therefore, humans typically spend a great deal of time in a postprandial hypertriglyceridemic state. Because chylomicron remnants, metabolites of chylomicron in the circulation, are implicated in atherogenic lipoproteins (4-8), the suppression of the postprandial increase in chylomicron remnants will lead to a reduction in CAD risks.
