Mineral oil, unlike corn or soybean oil, is likely a petroleum-based product and not a fatty acid, and its selection as a placebo in the REDUCE-IT trial may have been based on availability or economics rather than health considerations.

“i mean i think mineral oil frankly is totally different i mean i don't it's probably more resembles like a petroleum based product or something like that i don't think it's like a fatty acid in the sense that corn oil is or anything like that but yeah that is odd that they would use that but they were given presumably four grams of mineral oil every day as well in a placebo right and i i think the decision to make or to create mineral oil as the placebo at that point in time was not thought of from a health perspective but mostly from maybe what's available or economic or matching the taste of the intervention itself”