Enzymatic modification of phosphatidylcholine with n-3 PUFA from silkworm oil fatty acids

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis, characterization, in vitro antioxidant capacity and oxidative stability studies of novel phosphatidylcholines with ω-3/ω-6 PUFAs and phenolic acids

Novel phosphatidylcholines containing PUFAs and phenolic acids were synthesized from egg phosphatidylcholine (PC), PUFAs (docosahexaenoic, arachidonic and linoleic acids) and phenolic acids (caffeic, ferulic and p-coumaric acids) as substrates. The structures of modified PCs were confirmed by spectral analysis and were evaluated for antioxidant activities. The modified PCs containing caffeic and ferulic acids exhibited excellent antioxidant activities compared with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and α-tocopherol. The synthesized compounds were also evaluated for the oxidative stabilities in liposome and organic solvent. The modified PCs showed more oxidative stable compared with standard PUFA-PCs and PUFA-PCs + BHT. Results showed that the oxidative stability decreased with increasing degree of unsaturation in organic solvent whereas in liposomes, increased with increasing degree of unsaturation due to tight packed configuration. In this study, phenolic acids were found to render protections for PUFAs in modified PCs from oxidation. Modified PCs may have great potential for applications in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of 1-monoacylglycerols of unsaturated fatty acids as potential bioactive lipids

The synthesis of 1-monoacylglycerols of selected unsaturated fatty acids and their antimicrobial and cytotoxicity activity is reported in the present study. The monoacylglycerols of fatty acids like undecenoic, oleic, linoleic and erucic acids were prepared by chemical esterification with solketal followed by deprotection. Fatty acids like alpha linolenic, gamma linolenic and ricinoleic acids were initially isolated from natural sources and further enriched in their respective methyl ester forms. The monoacylglycerols of ricinoleic and linolenic acid methyl esters were prepared by enzymatic transesterification with solketal using lipase from Candida antarctica followed by deprotection. The synthesized 1-monoacylglycerols were purified and characterized by spectral studies. The antimicrobial activity revealed that the monoacylglycerol of gamma linolenic acid was the most effective antibacterial followed by the monoacylglycerols of undecenoic and alpha linolenic acids. In the cytotoxicity assay against five cell lines, all the monoacylglycerols exhibited moderate activity but the activity was best against MCF7 Human Breast Adenocarcinoma cell lines.

Production of Structured Phosphatidylcholine with High Content of Myristic Acid by Lipase-Catalyzed Acidolysis and Interesterification

Synthesis of structured phosphatidylcholine (PC) enriched with myristic acid (MA) was conducted by acidolysis and interesterification reactions using immobilized lipases as catalysts and two acyl donors: trimyristin (TMA) isolated from ground nutmeg, and myristic acid obtained by saponification of TMA. Screening experiments indicated that the most effective biocatalyst for interesterification was Rhizomucor miehei lipase (RML), whereas for acidolysis, the most active were Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) and RML. The effect of the molar ratio of substrates (egg-yolk PC/acyl donor), enzyme loading, and different solvent on the incorporation of MA into PC and on PC recovery was studied. The maximal incorporation of MA (44 wt%) was achieved after 48 h of RML-catalyzed interesterification in hexane using substrates molar ratio (PC/trimyristin) 1/5 and 30% enzyme load. Comparable results were obtained in toluene with 1/3 substrates molar ratio. Interesterification of PC with trimyristin resulted in significantly higher MA incorporation than acidolysis with myristic acid, particularly in the reactions catalyzed by RML.

Lipase-Catalyzed Transesterification of Egg-Yolk Phophatidylcholine with Concentrate of n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids from Cod Liver Oil

Phospholipids containing PUFAs are important vehicles for their delivering to the targeted tissues. In our research project we established enzymatic methods for the enrichment of natural egg-yolk PC with n-3 PUFAs. Instead of synthetic PUFA ethyl esters, the new strategy was developed using polyunsaturated fatty acids enriched fraction (PUFA-EF) from cod liver oil as the natural acyl donors. PUFA-EF was produced by urea-complexation and contained 86.9% PUFA including 8.5% stearidonic acid (SDA; 18:4(n-3)), 26.7% EPA, and 45.2% DHA. The transesterification of PC with PUFA was catalyzed by lipases. After screening of enzymes the effect of reaction medium; molar ratio of substrates and etc. was investigated. The highest incorporation of PUFA was 45.6%; including 36.8% DHA and 5.8% EPA at the following reaction conditions: hexane; 55 °C; PUFA-EF/PC acyl ratio of 10; 48 h of reaction time and lipase B from Candida antarctica as a biocatalyst (20% of enzyme load).