Synthesis of EPA- and DHA-enriched structured acylglycerols at the sn-2 position starting from commercial salmon oil by enzymatic lipase catalysis under supercritical conditions

• Published in: Molecules
• Main Authors: Dovale Rosabal, Gretel, Rodríguez Melis, Alicia, Espinosa Escalona, Berta Alejandra, Barriga Pinto, Gonzalo Andrés, Aubourg Martín, Santiago Pedro
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2021
• Subjects: n-3 LCPUFA; EPA/DHA sn-2 position; Salmon oil; Immobilized lipase B; Candida antarctica (nonspecific); CO2 supercritical extraction; Structured acylglycerols; Intra–interesterification; MALDI-TOF; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26113094; https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/182390

There is consistent evidence that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) belonging to the n-3 series, i.e., eicosapentaenoic (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic (22:6n-3, DHA) acids, decrease the risk of heart, circulatory and inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, the bioavailability of such fatty acids has been shown to depend on their location in triacylglycerol (TG) molecules at the sn-2 position. Consequently, great attention has been accorded to the synthesis of structured acylglycerols (sAG), which include EPA or DHA at the sn-2 position. The aim of this work was to synthesize sAG starting from deodorized refined commercial salmon oil. For this, immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica (nonspecific) was used as a catalyst for the intra-interesterification process under CO2 supercritical conditions (CO2SC). According to the CO2SC reaction time, three different fractions including sAG compounds were obtained. The location of EPA and DHA at the sn-2 position in the resulting glycerol backbone was identified by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) analysis. In all fractions obtained, a marked decrease in the starting TG content was observed, while an increase in the DHA content at the sn-2 position was detected. The fraction obtained after the longest reaction time period (2 h) led to the highest yield of sn-2 position DHA in the resulting sAG molecule. Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 1181774 Versión publicada - versión final del editor