before the present compositions and methods for stabilizing cla in dietary supplements , foods , and drugs are disclosed and described , it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular configurations , process steps , and materials disclosed herein as such configurations , process steps , and materials may vary somewhat . it is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof . the publications and other reference materials referred to herein to describe the background of the invention and to provide additional detail regarding its practice are hereby incorporated by reference . the references discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application . nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention . it must be noted that , as used in this specification and the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to a composition containing “ a fatty acid ” includes a mixture of two or more of such fatty acids , reference to “ an antioxidant ” includes reference to one or more of such antioxidants , and reference to “ an ester ” includes reference to a mixture of two or more of such esters . in describing and claiming the present invention , the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below . as used herein , “ comprising ,” “ including ,” “ containing ,” “ characterized by ,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open - ended terms that do not exclude additional , unrecited elements or method steps . “ comprising ” is to be interpreted as including the more restrictive terms “ consisting of ” and “ consisting essentially of .” as used herein , “ consisting of ” and grammatical equivalents thereof exclude any element , step , or ingredient not specified in the claim . as used herein , “ consisting essentially of ” and grammatical equivalents thereof limit the scope of a claim to the specified materials or steps and those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic or characteristics of the claimed invention . as used herein , “ effective amount ” means an amount of a dietary supplement that is nontoxic but sufficient to provide the desired effect and performance at a reasonable benefit / risk ratio attending any such dietary supplement . an effective amount of an antioxidant ingredient is an amount sufficient to measurably inhibit or reduce oxidation of cla . as used herein , “ bht ” means butylated hydroxytoluene , “ bha ” means butylated hydroxyanisole , “ tbhq ” means tertiary - butyl - hydroquinone , and “ edta ” means ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid , salts thereof , and mixtures thereof . in its most basic formulation , the present invention comprises a mixture of cis - 9 , trans - 11 conjugated linoleic acid and trans - 10 , cis - 12 conjugated linoleic acid randomly esterified to glycerol and an effective amount of an antioxidant ingredient . the glycerides resulting from esterification of cla with glycerol can be mono -, di -, or tri - glycerides , or mixtures thereof , but triglycerides are preferred . it is also within the scope of the invention to use glycerides of cis - 9 , trans - 11 cla or of trans - 10 , cis - 12 cla , but mixtures of the two isomers are more readily available . the esters can be made according to methods well known in the art , such as from acids by reacting cla with glycerol , from acid chlorides or anhydrides by reacting acid chlorides or anhydrides of cla with glycerol , or from esters by transesterification by reacting an ester of cla with glycerol . r . t . morrison & amp ; r . n . boyd , organic chemistry 673 ( 3 rd ed . 1973 ). the antioxidant ingredient can be an antioxidant or other compound that inhibits the initiation and progression of autoxidation and singlet oxygen reactions of polyunsaturated lipids , and therefore prevents the formation and decomposition of lipid peroxides . preferred such antioxidants for inhibiting the oxidation of the esterified cla include rosemary ( rosmarinus officinalis ) leaf extract , tocopherols , ascorbic acid , chelating agents , alpha lipoic acid , and the like , and mixtures thereof . an especially preferred formulation of rosemary leaf extract is sold under the registered trademark roseox ® ( hauser , inc .). the composition can also comprise other fatty acids , such as oleic , stearic , palmitic , behenic , lauric , linoleic , and linolenic acids , and mixtures thereof . traces of other 10 - 22 carbon fatty acids can also be present in the formulation , such as fatty acids naturally found in corn , soy , canola , sunflower , safflower , cottonseed , wheat germ , and olive oils and the like . the composition can also comprise glycerol as a diluent , stabilizer , and / or formulation aid . table 1 sets out ranges in percent by weight of these ingredient that can be present in preferred and more preferred formulations of the present invention . the composition of the present invention is preferably manufactured in liquid form by mixing the ingredients and then placing them in capsules as is well known in the art . remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ( 15 th ed . 1975 ). the capsules are then packaged in suitable containers . the composition is taken orally , typically with liquid , such as water , milk , fruit juice , or other beverages . the daily dosage of the composition preferably ranges from about 1 to 100 mg of cla ester per kg of body weight , more preferably from about 5 to 80 mg of cla ester per kg of body weight , and most preferably from about 7 to 45 mg of cla ester per kg of body weight . the daily dosage can be ingested in a single serving or divided into various servings and taken at intervals . for example , a preferred daily dosage could be taken by ingesting one or two capsules , each containing 500 mg of cla ester , one to three times daily . other ingredients , such as coloring agents , thickeners ( e . g ., gelatin ), stabilizers , and the like can also be incorporated into the composition for providing their usual advantages .
a composition containing a stabilized form of conjugated linoleic acid is described . the conjugated linoleic acid is reacted with glycerol to form an ester , which is much more resistant to oxidation than the acid form of the conjugated linoleic acid . the composition can additionally contain antioxidants , such as rosemary leaf extract , tocopherols , chelating agents , ascorbic acid , the like . the composition can also contain a fatty acid and / or glycerol ingredient . a method for supplementing an individual &# 39 ; s diet is also described .