Enrichment of gamma-linolenic acid from evening primrose oil and borage oil via lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis

Lipase‐catalyzed selective partial hydrolysis of evening primrose ( Oenothera biennis L.) seed oil and borage ( Borago officinalis L.) seed oil led to an increase in the level of γ‐linolenic acid (GLA; 18∶3n−6) in the unhydrolyzed acylglycerols. Thus, in evening primrose oil, the GLA level could be raised from 9.4% in the starting material to 46.5% in the unhydrolyzed acylglycerols by means of a lipase from Candida cylindracea . Selective hydrolysis of borage oil with Pancreatin led to an increase in the GLA content from 20.4% in the oil to 33.5% in the unhydrolyzed acylglycerols. Partial hydrolysis of borage oil with lipase from C. cylindracea raised the GLA content of the acylglycerols to 47.8%.