https://doi.org/10.17113/ftb.58.04.20.6546

Incorporation of Caprylic Acid into a Single Cell Oil Rich in Docosahexaenoic Acid for the Production of Specialty Lipids

Daniela Kanno Mathias¹, Jacqueline Piazentin Costa¹, Carolina Rodrigues Calvo¹, Roberta Claro da Silva², Attilio
Converti³,  Nadia Segura⁴,  Iván Jachmanián⁴, Luiz Antonio Gioielli¹ and Juliana Neves Rodrigues Ract^1*

¹Department of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 580, 05508-000 São Paulo, Brazil

²Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 1601 E. Market Street, NC 27411 Greensboro, USA

³Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Pole of Chemical Engineering, Via Opera Pia 15, I-16145 Genoa, Italy

⁴Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Chemistry, University of the Republic (UDELAR), Av. Gral Flores 2124, Casilla de Correos 1157, 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay

Article history:

Received: 16 October 2019

Accepted: 24 November 2020

Key words:

single cell oil, new source of docosahexaenoic acid, structured lipids, acidolysis, caprylic acid

Summary:

Research background. New sources of docosahexaenoic acid have recently been investigated aiming at infant formula fortification and dietary supplementation, among which the docosahexaenoic acid single cell oil, which contains 40-50 % of this acid.

Experimental approach. For this purpose, such an oil was blended with caprylic acid in molar proportions ranging from 1:1 to 5:1 and the blends were interesterified using either Novozym 435 or Lipozyme TL IM as the catalyst. The influence of the amount of excess free caprylic acid in the substrate, as well as the type of enzyme on the triacylglycerol rearrangement resulting from the synthesis of the structured lipids were evaluated.

Results and conclusions. The regiospecific lipase Lipozyme TL IM seemed to induce transesterification among single cell oil triacylglycerols preferably to acidolysis with caprylic acid, which was directly proportional to the ratio of this acid in the substrate. In reactions catalyzed by the non-regiospecific lipase Novozym 435, a higher incorporation of caprylic acid by single cell oil triacylglycerols was observed when compared with Lipozyme TL IM, independently of the oil:caprylic acid molar ratio.

Novelty and scientific contribution. These results revealed the importance of combining the choice of the type of lipase, either regiospecific or not, with the proportions of excess free fatty acids in acidolysis reactions when aiming to produce structured lipids as a source of docosahexaenoic acid.