Optimization of conjugated linoleic acid triglycerides via enzymatic esterification in no-solvent system

Abstract

We compared four esterifiable enzymes. The lipase Novozym 435 possessed the highest activity for the conjugated linoleic acid esterification during the synthesis of triglycerides. The triglycerides were synthesized by esterification of glycerol and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in a no-solvent system using lipase catalysis. We investigated the effects of temperature, enzyme concentration, water content, and time on esterification. Enzyme and water concentrations of up to 1% of the total reaction volume and a system temperature of 60°C proved optimal for esterification. Similarly, when the esterification was carried out for 24 h, the reaction ratio improved to 94.11%. The esterification rate of the rotating screen basket remained high (87.28%) when the enzyme was re-used for the 5th time. We evaluated the substrate selectivity of lipase (NOVO 435) and determined that this lipase prefers the 10,12-octadacadienoic acid to the 9,11-octadecadienoic acid.