Tricaprylin is a triester of glycerin and caprylic acid. It is used as a fragrance ingredient, solvent, and primarily as an emollient in a variety of personal care products, including makeup, creams and lotions, deodorants, sunscreens, hair conditioners, and skin cleansers. Tricaprylin is an ingredient of Axona, a prescription medical food intended for the clinical dietary management of the metabolic processes associated with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Axona provides a simple and safe method to induce hyperketonemia, thus providing an alternative energy substrate to glucose in the brain of patients with AD. After oral administration of Axona, Tricaprylin in Axona is processed by enzymes in the gut, and the resulting medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are absorbed into the blood supply leading to the liver. The MCFAs rapidly pass directly to the liver, where they undergo oxidation to form ketones. Since the liver does not use ketones, they are released into the circulation to be used by nonliver tissues. Some ketones can cross the blood-brain barrier and are then taken up by brain cells. While glucose is the brain’s chief energy source, ketones normally serve as the "backup" energy source. Ketones the body produces after Axona is consumed, act as an alternative energy source for brain cells that have lost their ability to use glucose (sugar) as a result of Alzheimer’s disease.