Human Milk Fat Substitutes from Lard and Hemp Seed Oil Mixtures

This paper discusses our attempt to generate substitutes for human breast milk fat through the interesterification of mixtures composed of lard and hemp (Cannabis sativa) seed oil. The interesterification was run at 60 °C for 2, 4, and 6 h in the presence of Lipozyme RM IM preparation containing a lipase specific for the cleavage of sn-1,3 ester bonds in triacylglycerol molecules. The interesterification products were analyzed regarding their fatty acid composition and distribution in triacylglycerol molecules. In order to assess the quality of the generated substitutes, in the interesterification products the following were determined: acid value, peroxide number, and oxidative stability. The collected data were statistically processed using Tukey’s test. Following the interesterification, the fats revealed an elevated percentage of free fatty acids and primary oxidation products and reduced oxidative stability compared to those of lard. The last of the above-mentioned phenomena could have been due to the incorporation of polyenic fatty acids into the external positions of triacyclglycerols of lard. The interesterification of lard and hemp seed oil allows scientists to acquire substitutes rich in essential fatty acids and similar to human breast milk fat with respect to the distribution of fatty acids in triacylglycerol molecules.