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Review
. 2021 Oct 14;10(10):2452.
doi: 10.3390/foods10102452.

The Effect of Trans Fatty Acids on Human Health: Regulation and Consumption Patterns

Davit Pipoyan  1 , Stella Stepanyan  1 , Seda Stepanyan  1 , Meline Beglaryan  1 , Lara Costantini  2 , Romina Molinari  2 , Nicolò Merendino  2
Affiliations
Review

The Effect of Trans Fatty Acids on Human Health: Regulation and Consumption Patterns

Davit Pipoyan et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Health effects of trans fatty acids (TFAs) on human organisms can vary according to their type, structure, composition, and origin. Even though the adverse health effects of industrial TFAs (iTFAs) have been widely discussed, the health effects of natural TFAs (nTFAs) are still questionable. Hence, it is important to review the literature and provide an overall picture on the health effects of different TFAs coming from industrial and ruminant sources, underlining those types that have adverse health effects as well as suggesting methods for reducing their harmful effects. Multiple databases (PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, etc.) were searched with the key words "trans fatty acid sources", "ruminant", "industrial", "conjugated trans linoleic acid", "human", "coronary heart disease", "cancer", etc. Reference lists of the studies were scanned discussing the health effects of iTFAs and nTFAs. The review of the literature showed that iTFAs are found to be more harmful than ruminant-produced nTFAs. Although several beneficial effects (such as reduced risk of diabetes) for nTFAs have been observed, they should be used with caution. Since during labeling it is usually not mentioned whether the TFAs contained in food are of industrial or natural origin, the general suggestion is to reduce their consumption.

Keywords: gut microbiota; human; industrial; ruminal; trans fatty acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of the major TFA in the green box are nTFA; the red box is iTFA. Green highlighting: cis-double bonds; red highlighting: trans-double bonds.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PRISMA flow diagram.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean intake of TFA as % of daily energy intake in different countries. The red line shows the maximum intake recommended by the WHO.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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