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Published on: October 1, 2013
Effects of fatty acid positional rearrangement on palm-based oils properties during enzymatic glycerolysis
Jiena Chen1, Shuo Zou1, Yilin Mao1
1China-Malaysia Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Oil Processing and Safety, Jinan University, China.
Abstract:
This study utilized palm oil (POL) as the raw material to investigate the impact of fatty acid positional rearrangement on the characteristics of glycerolysis products. The POL was enzymatic interesterification (EIE) modified to obtain a modified sample (IEPOL) with a rearranged fatty acid distribution. Both POL and IEPOL were subjected to glycerolysis to produce diacylglycerol (DAG) and triacylglycerol (TAG). The results showed that the sn-2 fatty acid distribution differences significantly affected both fatty acid migration and DAG composition during glycerolysis. EIE was shown to alter the fatty acid distribution at the sn-2 position, thereby stabilizing saturated fatty acids at this site. This stabilization is hypothesized to have reduced their migration during reaction. Furthermore, the DAG fraction derived from IEPOL exhibited superior crystallization behavior and thermal stability compared to POL. This work provides a theoretical foundation and a practical approach for designing functional lipids by modulating the fatty acid positions.
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