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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Dietary Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 29, 2013
Synthesis and concentration of 2-monoacylglycerols rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids
Yu Zhang1, Xiaosan Wang1, Dan Xie2
1Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, National Engineering Research Center for Functional Food, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, PR China.
Abstract:
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in 2-monoacylglycerols form exhibit various biological activities and have potential applications in food and pharmaceuticals. Preparation of 2-monoacylglycerols was conducted by enzymatic enthanolysis. The effects of lipase type, substrate weight ratio, reaction time and lipase load on the 2-monoacylglycerols content in the crude product were investigated. Lipozyme 435 behaved as 1,3-specific and high-catalytic-activity lipase in this reaction. Under the optimal conditions (ethanol:oil = 3:1 (w/w), 8% Lipozyme 435, 3 h), 27% 2-monoacylglycerols were obtained. After solvent extraction of 2-monoacylglycerols, the abilities of low temperature crystallization and molecular distillation to concentrate 2-PUFA-monoacylglycerols were compared. Low temperature crystallization concentrated 81.13% and 74.29% PUFA by acetonitrile and hexane, respectively, with over 90% in 2-monoacylglycerol forms. Conversely, molecular distillation yielded a PUFA concentration of 72% but decreased the 2-monoacylglycerols content to 69.81%. Thus, the method including enzymatic ethanolysis and low temperature crystallization is suitable for preparation of 2-monoacylglycerols rich in PUFA.
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