Structured lipids (SLs) are novel triacylglycerols obtained by changing the native fatty acid (FA) profiles or by the incorporation of a new desired FA in the acylglycerol backbone. These modified fats present important medical and functional properties for food applications. This work aimed to synthetize a MLM-type SL, which consists of triacylglycerols containing a medium-chain FA (M) at sn-1,3 positions and a long-chain FA (L) at sn-2 position, by acidolysis of pumpkin seed oil with capric acid, catalyzed by a commercial lipase preparation from Thermomyces lanuginosa (Lipozyme TL IM). Reactions were performed at 45 °C, in solvent-free media, at 1:2 molar ratio (pumpkin seed oil:capric acid) and a fixed amount of immobilized lipase of 5%, 10%, 15% or 20%. Incorporations of C10:0 increased with time up to 31 h (29.9 ± 0.7 mol-%) when 5% lipase load was used. Significant differences were only observed between the results obtained with 5 and 20% of biocatalyst load. The subsequent experiment was carried out with 5% lipase load, at 45 °C, 1:2 molar ratio and in the presence of n-hexane. The results showed slightly higher incorporation yields in the presence of solvent, namely at 48 h-reaction (34.7 ± 1.0 mol-%). However, since the structured lipids are to be used in food products, together with environmental and economic concerns, solvent-free systems are preferred. In this study, the synthesis of a MLM-type SL from pumpkin seed oil for food uses was well succeeded.
Simplified Method to Optimize Enzymatic Esters Syntheses in Solvent-Free Systems: Validation Using Literature and Experimental Data