Glycerolysis-structured Lipid Systems

Abstract

Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis converts native triglycerides into partial glycerides and has been shown to be an effective technique for structuring plant-based oils into solid fats without altering the fatty acid composition. This approach has been successfully used to structure a variety of oils with differing fatty acid compositions. For all oil systems studied, a 20 °C increase in crystallization onset temperature was observed. The physical properties of the glycerolysis-structured systems changed depending on the fatty acid composition of the oil and produced a range of solid fat content-temperature profiles suitable for different trans-free applications. Solid fat content increases were greatest for high oleic oils containing >10% saturated fat. The solid fat content of tigernut oil at 5 °C increased from 8% to 34%, while olive oil, which previously had no solid material contained 24.1% solids following glycerolysis. Glycerolysis-structured tigernut oil has been used to make margarine with plasticity and firmness similar to commercial margarine and butter. In addition, the melting properties of this product are preferable to those of some palm-based margarines available commercially. The ability to further tailor the properties of structural fats using the glycerolysis reaction conditions makes this an appealing process for producing trans-free lipid systems.