C18 Unsaturated Fatty Acid Selectivity of Lipases During the Acidolysis Reaction Between Tripalmitin and Oleic, Linoleic, and Linolenic Acids

The C18 unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) selectivity of three immobilized lipases, namely, Lipozyme TL IM from Thermomyces lanuginosa, Lipozyme RM IM from Rhizomucor miehei, and Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica, was determined in acidolysis conducted in hexane. Tripalmitin with a mixture of equimolar quantities of C18 UFAs was used as the substrate. Significantly different incorporation rates were observed for C18 UFAs used (p < 0.05). The highest incorporation was obtained for all three C18 UFAs with Novozym 435 followed by Lipozyme RM IM and Lipozyme TL IM catalyzed acidolysis under default conditions (substrate mole ratio 1:1; temperature 50 °C; reaction time 6 h; enzyme dosage 10%). Incorporation of the equimolar quantities of C18 UFAs was in the order C18:3 > C18:2 > C18:1 which also reflects C18 UFAs preferences of the lipases. The effects of operating variables on incorporation or UFA selectivity of lipases were also investigated. Among the experimental parameters including the mole ratio of fatty acid to triolein, temperature, enzyme dosage, and time on incorporation, the effect of the substrate mole ratio on UFA selectivity was greater than those of the others.