Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis extended to the conversion of a variety of edible oils into structural fats

• Published in: Current Research in Food Science
• Main Authors: Nicholson, Reed A., Marangoni, Alejandro G.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021
• Subjects: Articles from the special issue: Edible Soft Matter; edited by Ashok R.Patel; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8026901/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33855303; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2021.03.005

Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis was recently shown to be a viable technique to structure cottonseed and peanut oils into structural fats by converting native triacylglycerols into partial glycerides without changing overall fatty acid composition. Here, this approach was extended to a variety oils of differing fatty acid compositions. Reactions were performed at 65 °C for 48 h at a triacylglycerol:glycerol molar ratio of 1:1, using the non-regiospecific Candida antarctica lipase B. In all oil systems, a 20 °C increase in crystallization onset temperature was observed following glycerolysis. Solid fat content increases resulting from glycerolysis were greatest for oils containing >10% saturated fat along with a high oleic acid content. The solid fat content of tigernut oil at 5 °C increased from 8% to 34% following glycerolysis. Tigernut glycerolysis product was used to make margarine with plasticity similar to commercial margarine and butter. This research demonstrates that glycerolysis is a general strategy to convert liquid oils into structural fats used in food applications, and thus replace palm oil and hydrogenated fats.