Synthesis of MCFA and PUFA rich oils by enzymatic structuring of flax oil with single cell oils

Abstract

Lipid structuring is chemical or enzymatic modification of any naturally occurring lipid using other lipids. The present study reports such designing of nutritionally fortified polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) rich oils by enzymatic structuring of PUFA- α-linolenic acid (ALA) rich - flax oil (FO) with MCFA-caprylic acid (CA) catalysed by sn 1,3 specific Immobead 150 immobilized Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL). For the first time MO from oleaginous isolates Geotrichumcandidum- NBT-1 and Pichiakudriavzevii- NBT-13 predominantly rich in CA, were used as a non-synthetic MCFA source. The % incorporation of CA in the structured FO was 69.25% from NBT-1 oil and 47.35% from NBT-13 oil, in sufficient closeness to contemporary studies of C8:0 incorporation using synthetic sources. The structured FO by NBT-1 and NBT-13 oils also contained 23.45% of ALA with 30.62% unsaturation and 24.97% of ALA with 47.10% unsaturation respectively. Outcomes revealed balanced concentration of both MCFA and PUFA in structured FO, presenting it as a nutritionally explicit and potential candidate for nutritional and medical applications.