Abstract
Two different fish oil preparations, namely triglycerides and ethyl esters containing, respectively, 30.02% and 74.38% of omega‐3 fatty acids, were employed as the substrates for transesterification. Catalyzed by immobilized lipase using imidazolium‐based ionic liquid systems, the total content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the resulting triglyceride reached 63.60% when 4% hydrophobic ionic liquid was used, which was 11.74% higher than that of the triglyceride produced in a solvent‐free reaction system. The activation energy of the product (triglyceride‐type fish oil) was 173.64 KJ mol−1, which was not significantly different from that of the commercial ethyl ester‐type fish oil, so were the other thermal oxidative kinetic parameters. The kinetic parameters depicting the thermal and oxidative stability of the fish oil product provide the basis for industrial processing, storage, and applications.
Highlights
Fish oil products containing elevated contents of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) has for decades been the focus of the fish oil industry owing to their recognized benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and inflammatory disease and ameliorating brain function and mental health (Cheong, Guo, Yang, Chua, & Xu, 2011; Ruxton, Reed, Simpson, & Millington, 2004)
Many conventional chemical methods for the production of marine oils containing n-3 PUFA involve the usage of water-immiscible organic solvents that are toxic, flammable, or volatile, subsequently raising the overall production cost due to the need to properly dispose of the residual organic solvents (Ackman, Ratnayake, & Olson, 1988; Halldorsson, Kristinsson, & Haraldsson, 2004; Teramoto, Matsuyama, Ohnishi, Uwagawa, & Nakai, 1994; Yokochi, Usita, Kamisaka, Nakahara, & Suzuki, 1990)
10-ml 0.5 M NaOH methanol solution was added into the triglyceride fish oil sample, and shaken for 20 min in a constant temperature water bath at 65°C until the oil droplet disappeared
Summary
Fish oil products containing elevated contents of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) has for decades been the focus of the fish oil industry owing to their recognized benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and inflammatory disease and ameliorating brain function and mental health (Cheong, Guo, Yang, Chua, & Xu, 2011; Ruxton, Reed, Simpson, & Millington, 2004). ILs containing aromatic rings, i.e., the imidazole and pyridinium types, have been reported capable of selectively extracting the healthful n-3 PUFA, subsequently enhancing their purity, by forming reversible π–bonding that governs the selective adsorption of PUFA and ethyl esters from fish oil (Cheong et al, 2011; Ventura et al, 2017). There remains a void in the literature on how such a green system could be applicable in the production of fish oil containing high omega-3 triglyceride and the stability of resulting products. Imidazolium-based ILs containing different anions were employed to conduct enzymatic catalysis of esterification in the production of high omega-3 triglyceride oil. The thermal stability and oxidative kinetics of the products were investigated to gain insights on how to increase product stability so that they can be further optimized to meet industrial processing, storage, and application needs
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