Acyl migration of 2-monoacylglycerols rich in DHA: Effect of temperature and solvent medium

•Enhanced temperature from 20 °C to 50 °C caused a 5.6-fold increase in acyl migration.•t-Butanol effectively inhibited the acyl migration of 2-MAGs rich in DHA at 50 °C.•Fatty acid distribution in 2-MAGs and 1-MAGs after acyl migration was different in ethanol, t-butanol, acetone and acetonitrile at 40 °C. Acyl migration of 2-monoacylglycerols (2-MAGs) rich in DHA is a universal reaction occurring during storage and structural lipid synthesis, and affects their nutritional value. In this study, their acyl migration was investigated under different systems and temperatures. The enhanced temperature promoted acyl migration, leading to a 5.6-fold increase from 20 °C to 50 °C. The kinetic study indicated rate constants followed the order: hexane > solvent-free > dichloromethane > ethanol ≈ acetone ≈ acetonitrile > t-butanol, and positively correlated with log P of solvent. During acyl migration in ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile and t-butanol at 40 °C, DHA content in 2-MAGs was higher than in 1-MAGs, indicating slow acyl migration of DHA; while at 50 °C, the difference of DHA distribution was small, due to increasing acyl migration rate. The results suggest that acyl migration of different fatty acids can be regulated by changing conditions to enrich DHA at sn-2 position.