Production of diacylglycerols through low-temperature chemical glycerolysis

Preparation of functional oils rich in phytosterol esters and diacylglycerols by enzymatic transesterification

Phytosterol esters (PEs) and diacylglycerols (DAGs) have various health benefits in humans. In this study, PEs and DAGs were synthesized by lipase-catalyzed transesterification between a natural oil and phytosterols. First, commercial lipases were screened for transesterification and were further verified using multiple-ligand molecular docking. AYS "Amano" (a lipase from Candida rugosa) was found to be the optimum lipase. Subsequently, the enzymatic transesterification conditions were optimized. The optimized conditions were determined to be a 1:2 M ratio of phytosterols to oil, 100 mmol/L phytosterols, and 9 % AYS "Amano", and 50 °C for 24 h in 20 mL n-hexane. Under these conditions, over 70 % of phytosterols were converted to PEs. In this study, an efficient enzymatic process was developed to produce value-added functional oils rich in PEs and DAGs, with PEs content ≥ 31.6 %, DAGs content ≥ 11.2 %, acid value ≤ 0.91 mg KOH/g, and peroxide value ≤ 2.38 mmol/kg.

Immobilization of Candida antarctica Lipase A onto Macroporous Resin NKA-9: Esterification and Glycerolysis Performance Study

In this study, lipase A from Candida antarctica (CALA) was immobilized onto the macroporous resin NKA-9. Immobilization conditions (pH, time and CALA concentration) were studied, enzymatic activity and immobilization efficiency (IE) up to 968.89 U/g and 53.19% were respectively obtained under optimal conditions (immobilization pH 5.0, time 5 h and CALA concentration at 30 mg/mL). Then, the NKA-9 supported CALA (CALA@NKA-9) samples were used to catalyze glycerolysis in solvent-free system. With 0.25 g of the present CALA@NKA-9 (soybean oil 3.52 g and glycerol 0.184 g) and after 12 h reaction at 50 °C, diacylglycerols (DAG) content up to 64.37% and triacylglycerols (TAG) conversion at 83.33% were obtained. The relationship between temperature and TAG conversion was LnV ₀ = 13.9310-6.4212/T for CALA@NKA-9. Meanwhile, the activation energy (Ea) of CALA@NKA-9 was calculated to be 53.39 kJ/mol. In addition, reusability in the glycerolysis reaction was also evaluated, and 57.82% of the initial glycerolysis activity was retained after 9 consecutive applications. Furthermore, the CALA@NKA-9 was also used to catalyze the esterification (esterification of fatty acids with glycerol), however, the present CALA@NKA-9 cannot initiate the esterification. Therefore, the present CALA@NKA-9 is shown to be potential for DAG production through glycerolysis reaction.

Future of Structured Lipids: Enzymatic Synthesis and Their New Applications in Food Systems

Structured lipids (SLs) refer to a new type of functional lipid obtained by modifying natural triacylglycerol (TAG) through the restructuring of fatty acids, thereby altering the composition, structure, and distribution of fatty acids attached to the glycerol backbones. Due to the unique functional characteristics of SLs (easy to absorb, low in calories, reduced serum TAG, etc.), there is increasing interest in the research and application of SLs. SLs were initially prepared using chemical methods. With the wide application of enzymes in industries and the advantages of enzymatic synthesis (mild reaction conditions, high catalytic efficiency, environmental friendliness, etc.), synthesis of SLs using lipase has aroused great interest. This review summarizes the reaction system of SL production and introduces the enzymatic synthesis and application of some of the latest SLs discussed/developed in recent years, including medium- to long-chain triacylglycerol (MLCT), diacylglycerol (DAG), EPA- and DHA-enriched TAG, human milk fat substitutes, and esterified propoxylated glycerol (EPG). Lastly, several new ways of applying SLs (powdered oil, DAG plastic fat, inert gas spray oil, and emulsion) in the future food industry are also highlighted.

Progress in enrichment of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid: a review

n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) has been widely used in foods, and pharmaceutical products due to its beneficial effects. The content of n-3 PUFA in natural oils is usually low, which decreases its added value. Thus, there is an increasing demand on the market for n-3 PUFA concentrates. This review firstly introduces the differences in bioavailability and oxidative stability between different types of PUFA concentrate (free fatty acid, ethyl ester and acylglycerol), and then provides a comprehensive discussion of different methods for enrichment of lipids with n-3 PUFA including physical-chemical methods and enzymatic methods. Lipases used for catalyzing esterification, transesterification and hydrolysis reactions play an important role in the production of highly enriched various types of n-3 PUFA concentrates. Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis or hydrolysis reactions are the mostly employed method to prepare high-quality n-3 PUFA of structural acylglycerols. Although many important advantages offered by lipases in enrichment of n-3 PUFA, the high cost of enzyme limits its industrial-scale production. Further research should focus on looking for biological enzymes with extraordinary catalytic ability and clear selectivity. Other novel technologies such as protein engineering and immobilization may be needed to modify lipases to improve its selectivity, catalytic ability and reuse.

Enhancement of the hydrophilic feruloyl glycerol synthesis using A-35 as a catalyst and its functional characteristics

Feruloyl glycerol (FG) is the hydrophilic ester of ferulic acid (FA), which has a high solubility in water and a strong ability to resist ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In this work, several solid acids were used as novel economical catalysts and FA was used as a cheap substrate for FG preparation. The effects of reaction variables on the esterification of FA with glycerol were investigated and optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). Results showed that a cheap solid acid cation exchange resin A-35 showed the best performance for esterification. The reaction conditions were optimized by RSM as follows: 15 : 1 (glycerol/FA) substrate molar ratio and 14% catalyst loading at 90 °C for 7 h. The maximum FG yield (98.50 ± 0.58%) was achieved under the optimized conditions. The activation energy of the esterification was 53.71 kJ mol^-1. The results of UV absorbance showed that FG had good anti-UV activity and photostability, which can be used as a potential antioxidant and UV absorber in food and sunscreen products.

Effects of Solvents on the Glycerolysis Performance of the SBA-15 Supported Lipases

In this study, Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB), Rhizomucor miehei lipase (RML) and Lecitase^® Ultra (LU) were immobilized onto the mesoporous silica SBA-15. The glycerolysis performance of the obtained supported lipases (lipase@SBA-15) in solvent systems was carefully investigated. LU@SBA-15 exhibited good glycerolysis performance in solvent-free system, with diacylglycerols (DAG) content and triacylglycerols (TAG) conversion at 52.4 and 98.6% respectively obtained after 12 h reaction at 60°C. CALB@SBA-15 showed good glycerolysis activity in tert-pentanol and tert-butanol systems, with TAG conversion over 90% obtained. In addition, the present CALB@SBA-15 exhibited selectivity for monoacylglycerols (MAG) production, with glycerol to TAG molar ratio increased to 3:1, MAG content over 80% and TAG conversion over 99% could be obtained from both tert-pentanol and tert-butanol systems. However, RML@SBA-15 showed low glycerolysis activity neither in solvent nor in solvent-free systems. The present results favor the practical enzymatic design for MAG and DAG production.

Rendering waste oil as a new source for the synthesis of emulsifier: optimization, purification, and characterization

The enzymatic glycerolysis conditions in the production emulsifier by using the rendering waste oil were optimized in the present study. The effects of changes in duration (1–27 h), temperature (50–80 °C), enzyme (5–20%), and glycerol (5–20%) concentration, addition of solvent (acetone, acetonitrile, chloroform, methanol, ethanol, and tert-butanol) and water addition (3.5% of glycerol rate), and ultrasound application on the enzymatic glycerolysis reaction medium for mono- and diglyceride production were investigated. After determining the optimum conditions, the effects of the ultrasonic bath on the physic-chemical and rheological properties of emulsifier, the oxidation tests were examined. Using the preparative column chromatography method, three different emulsifier compositions were achieved and named E100, E50-50, and E50-40-10 by their monoglyceride, diglyceride, and triglyceride contents, respectively. Then, the post-purification emulsion properties and rheological behaviors of emulsifier samples were determined. E50-40-10 emulsifier was found to be the best sample in terms of rheological properties and emulsion stability.

Production of diacylglycerols through glycerolysis with SBA-15 supported Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase as catalyst

BACKGROUND

In this study, SBA-15 was functionalized by silane coupling reagents, then lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) was immobilized onto the parent and the organically modified SBA-15 for diacylglycerol (DAG) production through glycerolysis.

RESULTS

Diacylglycerol content of 54.77 ± 0.63%, and triacylglycerol (TAG) conversion of 77.75 ± 1.24%, were obtained from the parent SBA-15 supported TLL-mediated glycerolysis reaction in a solvent-free system. However, poor performance was unexpectedly observed when co-solvents were introduced into the reaction system. After organic modification, the functionalized SBA-15 supported TLL samples all exhibited reasonable performance, producing DAG content over 40 wt% and TAG conversion over 70 wt%. Higher DAG content, up to 59.19 ± 1.10%, was observed from the phenyl group-modified SBA-15 supported TLL. The operational stability of the immobilized TLL samples in glycerolysis was also improved after organic functionalization. The phenyl group-modified SBA-15 supported TLL showed good reusability in the present glycerolysis reaction, and 95.21 ± 4.87% of the initial glycerolysis activity remained after five cycles of reuse.

CONCLUSION

The organic modification of SBA-15 improved the catalytic performance of its supported TLL in glycerolysis, in terms of TAG conversion, DAG content, and reusability. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Highly Selective Synthesis of Monolaurin via Enzymatic Transesterification under Batch and Continuous Flow Conditions

This study aimed to investigate the highly selective production of monolaurin via enzymatic transesterification of methyl laurate and glycerol. It was determined that a binary solvent system (tert-butanol/iso-propanol, 20:80, wt./wt.) was suitable for the enzymatic production of monolaurin, especially in the continuous process. The highest mass fraction of monolaurin in the product mixture (80.8 wt.%) was achieved in a batch mode under the following conditions: a methyl laurate-to-glycerol molar ratio of 1:6, a substrate concentration (methyl laurate in the binary solvent) of 15 wt.%, an enzyme dosage of 6 wt.% of the amount of methyl laurate, and a reaction time of 1.5 h at 50°C. Compared with the results under the batch conditions, a slightly higher yield of monolaurin (82.5 ± 2.5 wt.%) was obtained in a continuous flow system at a flow rate of 0.1 mL/min, while the mass fraction of dilaurin in the product mixture was only 0.7 ± 0.6 wt.%. In addition, the yield of monolaurin remained almost unchanged during the 18 tested days of the continuous experiment.

Ultrasonic pretreatment promotes diacylglycerol production from lard by lipase-catalysed glycerolysis and its physicochemical properties

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on diacylglycerol (DAG) synthesis by lipase-catalysed glycerolysis of lard and to analyse the physicochemical properties of lard-based DAG. The optimal ultrasonic pretreatment conditions were: Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme® RMIM)-to-lard ratio 4:100 (W/W), 45 °C for 5 min, and power 250 W. The lard-based DAG samples for 4 h of glycerolysis reactions with ultrasonic pretreatment (named DAG-U) and 11 h of glycerolysis reactions without ultrasonic pretreatment (named DAG-N) had similar DAG contents and were used for further analysis. The major FA compositions and iodine value of lard, DAG-U and DAG-N were similar. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis proved that enzymatic glycerolysis with and without ultrasonic pretreatment did not change the structure of the lard. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed that the crystallization onset of DAG-U and DAG-N shifted to higher temperatures than that of lard, which indicated that DAG oils accelerated nucleation and crystal growth. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that both DAG-U and DAG-N contained β' crystal and a substantially lower amount of β crystal. Overall, ultrasonic pretreatment promotes diacylglycerol production from lard through lipase-catalysed glycerolysis, and DAG-U and DAG-N have similar physicochemical properties.

Synthesis of docosapentaenoic acid-enriched diacylglycerols by enzymatic glycerolysis of Schizochytrium sp. oil

Utilization of algae oil and glycerol for preparation of value-added products is vital for sustainable development of related industries. In this study, we aimed to prepare highly pure diacylglycerols (DAG) rich in docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). First, content of DPA in form of triacylglycerols (TAG) increased from 16.4% to 28.1% after low-temperature crystallization of Schizochytrium sp. oil at -80 °C for 6 h. Subsequently, DPA-enriched DAG was prepared by the enzymatic glycerolysis of the enriched oil. Under the optimum conditions, there was 48.4% DAG produced in the crude mixture. To remove polar impurities from the crude product, a novel two-step purification was developed and the final product consisted of 75.1% DAG and 24.9% TAG with a low peroxide value. The current method for the synthesis of DAG rich DPA is effective and relatively mild and the successful preparation of value-added product will reduce production costs for algae and biodiesel industries.

Catalyst free production of partial glycerides: acetone as solvent

Acetone as solvent glycerolysis of oil and simultaneous production of solketal. Reactor loading and quality of stirring are important factors for efficient glycerolysis.

Kinetics of ultrasound-assisted lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis of olive oil in solvent-free system

This work reports experimental kinetic data of solvent-free glycerolysis of olive oil using a commercial immobilized lipase (Novozym 435) under the influence of ultrasound irradiation. The experiments were performed in a mechanically stirred reactor under ultrasound irradiation, evaluating the effects of temperature (50-70 °C), enzyme concentration (2.5-10 wt%) and glycerol to oil molar ratio (0.8:1-3:1). Results show that ultrasound-assisted lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis might be a potential alternative route to conventional methods, as high contents of reaction products, especially monoglycerides, were achieved at mild irradiation power supply (~130 W) and temperature, in a relatively short reaction time (2h) and low enzyme content (7.5 wt%). To completeness, two simplified kinetic modeling approaches, based on the ordered-sequential bi bi mechanism and reaction stoichiometry, were employed to represent the experimental data, thus allowing a better understanding of the reaction kinetics.

Ultrasound irradiation promoted efficient solvent-free lipase-catalyzed production of mono- and diacylglycerols from olive oil

This work reports the enzymatic production of mono- and diacylglycerols under the influence of ultrasound irradiation, in a solvent-free system, with and without the presence of surfactants at a constant temperature of 65°C, glycerol to oil molar ratio of 2:1 and a commercial immobilized lipase (Novozym 435) as catalyst. For this purpose, two operation modes were adopted: the use of a sonotrode (ultrasonic probe), without agitation, varying reaction time, irradiation amplitude (25-45% of the total power) and type of surfactant, and a mechanically stirred reactor (600 rpm) under ultrasound irradiation in a water bath, testing different surfactants. Results show that very satisfactory MAG and DAG yields, above 50 wt.%, can be obtained without the use of surfactant, at mild irradiation power supply (∼130 W), with no important enzyme activity losses verified, in a relatively short reaction time (2h), and low enzyme content (7.5 wt.%). Also, reaction kinetic results show that contents of MAG+DAG as high as ∼65 wt.% can be achieved at longer times (6h), indicating a promising route for producing MAG and DAG using ultrasound irradiation.