Evaluation of enzymatic interesterification in structured triacylglycerols preparation: a concise review and prospect

Abstract

Enzymatic interesterification (EIE) is one of the emerging technologies in the specialty fats industry. EIE has several advantages over the conventional chemical interesterification method, such that the process has higher flexibility and efficiency, is environmentally friendly and the immobilized enzyme can be recycled besides of the lower requirement for substrate’s acid value. The physical properties and nutritional qualities of the fats and oils are modified after EIE, depending on the change in the position of fatty acids on the triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules. Evaluation of the interesterification reaction are important and useful in terms of its technological applications. This paper summarizes the conventional methods and the advancement for evaluating EIE processes, e.g., determination of the change in slip melting points, solid fat contents, TAG with equivalent carbon numbers, and sn-2 fatty acid compositions of the end product. Nonetheless, these methods are not comprehensive because during the EIE process, acyl migration occurs. A novel and convenient evaluation model which is based on the fatty acid distribution on the glycerol-backbone is proposed as a perspective. This model can be employed to monitor the interesterification degree and acyl migration during a regiospecific EIE process, which serves as a reaction rule that can be employed to control and optimize the EIE process, thereby producing structured TAG with desired properties.

Keywords:

• Acyl migration
• interesterification
• structured triacylglycerols

Disclosure statement

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 31671781, the financial support from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under grant 2019M663388, the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province under grant 2020B020226010, 2017B090907018, 2016YT03H132, and 2016A010105010, and the Bureau of Science and Information of Guangzhou under grant 201803020032 are gratefully acknowledged.