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Five lipases, namely, Candida antarctica (Novozyme-435), Mucor miehei (Lipozyme-IM), Pseudomonas sp. (PS-30), Aspergillus niger (AP-12), and Candida rugosa (AY-30), were screened for their effect on catalyzing the acidolysis of tristearin with selected long-chain fatty acids. Among the lipases tested C. antarctica lipase catalyzed the highest incorporation of oleic acid (OA, 58.2%), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, 55.9%), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 81.6%), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 47.7%) into tristearin. In comparison with other lipases examined, C. rugosa lipase catalyzed the highest incorporation of linoleic acid (LA, 75.8%), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 74.8%), and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA, 53.5%) into tristearin. Thus, these two lipases might be considered promising biocatalysts for acidolysis of tristearin with selected long-chain fatty acids. EPA was better incorporated into tristearin than DHA using the fifth enzymes. LA incorporation was better than CLA. ALA was more reactive than GLA during acidolysis, except for the reaction catalyzed by Pseudomonas sp., possibly due to structural differences (location and geometry of double bonds) between the two fatty acids. In another set of experiments, a combination of equimolar quantities of unsaturated C18 fatty acids (OA + LA + CLA + GLA + ALA) was used for acidolysis of tristearin to C18 fatty acids at ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3. All lipases tested catalyzed incorporation of OA and LA into tristearin except for M. miehei, which incorportaed only OA. C. rugosa lipase better catalyzed incorporation of OA and LA into tristearin than other lipases tested, whereas the lowest incorporation was obtained using Pseudomonas sp. As the mole ratio of substrates increased from 1 to 3, incorporation of OA and LA increased except for the reaction catalyzed by A. niger and C. rugosa. All lipases tested failed to allow GLA or CLA to participate in the acidolysis reaction, and ALA was only slightly incoporated into tristearin when M. miehei was used.

For the first time, a possible mechanism responsible, in part, for the removal of endogenous antioxidants through the formation of tocopheryl esters during acidolysis reactions is proposed and confirmed. Tocopherols in the oils were found to react with carboxylic acids present in the medium, thus leading to the formation of tocopheryl esters that do not render any stability to the resultant modified oils as they lack any free hydroxyl groups on the phenolic ring of the molecule. Tocopheryl oleate, used as a standard, was synthesized through the reaction of acyl chloride of oleic acid with alpha-tocopherol (m/z 695.5 as evidenced by mass spectrometry). Subsequently, lipase-assisted esterification of alpha-, gamma-, and delta-tocopherols with oleic acid was carried out, and corresponding tocopheryl esters were isolated. In a real acidolysis reaction system involving docosahexaenoic acid single-cell oil and capric acid, high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated the presence of several tocopheryl esters. These included tocopheryl esters of myristic acid, namely, alpha-tocopheryl myristate, m/z 641.1, gamma-tocopheryl myristate, m/z 627.1, and delta-tocopheryl myristate, m/z 613.1, as well as those of palmitic acid, namely, alpha-tocopheryl palmitate, m/z 669.1, gamma-tocopheryl palmitate, m/z 655.1, and delta-tocopheryl palmitate, m/z 641.1. The mixture also contained different species of tocopheryl oleates, namely, alpha-tocopheryl oleate, m/z 695.5, gamma-tocopheryl oleate, m/z 681.1, and delta-tocopheryl oleate, m/z 667.2. Esters produced from reactions of docosahexaenoic acid and tocopherols were also detected, namely, alpha-tocopheryl docosahexaenoate, m/z 738.7, and delta-tocopheryl docosahexaenoate, m/z 710.7.

The ability of different lipases to incorporate omega3 fatty acids, namely, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n-3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, C22:5n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3), into a high-laurate canola oil, known as Laurical 35, was studied. Lipases from Mucor miehei (Lipozyme-IM), Pseudomonas sp. (PS-30), and Candida rugosa (AY-30) catalyzed optimum incorporation of EPA, DPA, and DHA into Laurical 35, respectively. Other lipases used were Candida anatrctica (Novozyme-435) and Aspergillus niger (AP-12). Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to obtain a maximum incorporation of EPA, DPA, and DHA into high-laurate canola oil. The process variables studied were the amount of enzyme (2-6%), reaction temperature (35-55 degrees C), and incubation time (12-36 h). The amount of water added and mole ratio of substrates (oil to n-3 fatty acids) were kept at 2% and 1:3, respectively. The maximum incorporation of EPA (62.2%) into Laurical 35 was predicted at 4.36% of enzyme load and 43.2 degrees C over 23.9 h. Under optimum conditions (5.41% enzyme; 38.7 degrees C; 33.5 h), the incorporation of DPA into high-laurate canola oil was 50.8%. The corresponding maximum incorporation of DHA (34.1%) into Laurical 35 was obtained using 5.25% enzyme, at 43.7 degrees C, over 44.7 h. Thus, the number of double bonds and the chain length of fatty acids had a marked effect on the incorporation omega3 fatty acids into Laurical 35. EPA and DHA were mainly esterified to the sn-1,3 positions of the modified oils, whereas DPA was randomly distributed over the three positions of the triacylglycerol molecules. Meanwhile, lauric acid remained esterified mainly to the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the modified oils. Enzymatically modified Laurical 35 with EPA, DPA, or DHA had higher conjugated diene (CD) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values than their unmodified counterpart. Thus, enzymatically modified oils were more susceptible to oxidation than their unmodified counterparts, when both CD and TBARS values were considered.

Screening of five commercially available lipases for the incorporation of capric acid (CA) into docosahexaenoic acid single cell oil (DHASCO) indicated that lipase PS-30 from Pseudomonas sp. was most effective. Of the various reaction parameters examined, namely, the mole ratio of substrates, enzyme amount, time of incubation, reaction temperature, and amount of added water, for CA incorporation into DHASCO, the optimum conditions were a mole ratio of 1:3 (DHASCO/CA) at a temperature of 45 degrees C, and a reaction time of 24 h in the presence of 4% enzyme and 2% water content. Examination of the positional distribution of fatty acids on the glycerol backbone of the modified DHASCO with CA showed that CA was present mainly in the sn-1,3 positions of the triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules. Meanwhile, DHA was favorably present in the sn-2 position, but also located in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions. The oxidative stability of the modified DHASCO in comparison with the original DHASCO, as indicated in the conjugated diene values, showed that the unmodified oil remained relatively unchanged during storage for 72 h, but DHASCO-based structured lipid was oxidized to a much higher level than the original oil. The modified oil also attained a considerably higher thiobarbituric acid reactive substances value than the original oil over the entire storage period. However, when the oil was subjected to the same process steps in the absence of any enzyme, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in its oxidative stability when compared with enzymatically modified DHASCO. Therefore, removal of antioxidants during the process is primarily responsible for the compromised stability of the modified oil.