Efficient hydrolysis of tuna oil by a surfactant-coated lipase in a two-phase system

A surfactant-coated lipase (SCL) prepared by mixing Candida rugosa lipase with emulsifier in ethanol was used to hydrolyze tuna oil in a two-phase aqueous-organic system. Both enzyme (SCL) and substrate (tuna oil) were soluble in the organic phase, and the hydrolysis could occur with water molecules from the aqueous phase. This hydrolysis could promptly proceed compared to that catalyzed by native lipases which only occurred at the interface between the two phases. Michaelis-Menten kinetics in the two-phase reactions showed that the K(m) value of the SCL was half that of the native lipase, while the maximum velocity (V(max)) was 11.5 times higher. The hydrolysis method resulted in enrichment of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) content in glyceride mixtures from 26.4% to 49.8% and DHA from 19.1% to 38.9%. The SCL acted as an efficient hydrolytic catalyst for tuna oil.