Lipase-catalyzed reactions of fatty acids with glycerol and acylglycerols

Summary Esterification and/or acidolysis reactions of oleic acid with glycerol, monooleoylglycerols, dioleoylglycerols, and trioleoylglycerol have been investigated using two immobilized microbial lipase preparations: Lipase G from Penicillium sp. and sn-1,3-specific Lipozyme from Mucor miehei. Lipase G effectively catalyzes the esterification of oleic acid with glycerol yielding monooleoylglycerols as the most predominant product, but it is rather ineffective for the esterification and/or acidolysis with the acylglycerols. Lipozyme also catalyzes the esterification of oleic acid with glycerol, although at a lower rate than Lipase G, and the predominant products formed are dioleoylglycerols, followed by monooleoylglycerols and trioleoylglycerol. With Lipozyme as biocatalyst, oleic acid reacts with monooleoylglycerols predominantly by esterification, with dioleoylglycerols to a greater extent by acidolysis than by esterification, and with trioleoylglycerol almost exclusively by acidolysis at the sn-1,3-positions. Potential applications of these lipase-catalyzed reactions in the industrial preparation of acylglycerols and deacidification of fats and oils by esterification of the fatty acids with endogenous acylglycerols or exogenous glycerol and/or acylglycerols are outlined.     

Production of diacylglycerols from glycerol monooleate and ethyl oleate through free and immobilized lipase-catalyzed consecutive reactions

The ability of free and immobilized lipase on the production of diacylglycerols (DAG) by transesterification of glycerol monooleate (GMO) and ethyl oleate was investigated. Among three free lipases such as lipase G (Penicillium cyclopium), lipase AK (Pseudomonas fluorescens) and lipase PS (Pseudomonas cepacia), lipase PS exhibited the highest DAG productivity, and the DAG content gradually increased up to 24 hours reaction and then remained steady. The comparative result for DAG productivity between free lipase PS and immobilized lipases (lipase PS-D and Lipozyme RM IM) during nine times of 24 hours reaction indicated that total DAG production was higher in immobilized lipase PS-D (183.5mM) and Lipozyme RM IM (309.5mM) than free lipase PS (122.0mM) at the first reaction, and that the DAG production rate was reduced by consecutive reactions, in which more sn-1,3-DAG was synthesized than sn-1,2-DAG. During the consecutive reactions, the activity of lipase PS was relatively steady by showing similar DAG content, whereas DAG production of lipase PS-D and Lipozyme RM IM was gradually decreased to 69.9 and 167.1mM at 9th reaction, respectively, resulting in 62% and 46% reduced production when compared with 1st reaction. Interestingly, from 7th reaction lipase PS produced more DAG than immobilized lipase PS-D, and exhibited a stable activity for DAG production. Therefore, the present study suggested that DAG productivity between GMO and ethyl oleate was higher in immobilized lipases than free lipases, but the activity was reduced with repeated uses.     

Synthesis of monoacylglycerol containing pinolenic acid via stepwise esterification using a cold active lipase

High purity monoacylglycerol (MAG) containing pinolenic acid was synthesized via stepwise esterification of glycerol and fatty acids from pine nut oil using a cold active lipase from Penicillium camembertii as a biocatalyst. Effects of temperature, molar ratio, water content, enzyme loading, and vacuum on the synthesis of MAG by lipase‐catalyzed esterification of glycerol and fatty acid from pine nut oil were investigated. Diacylglycerol (DAG) as well as MAG increased significantly when temperature was increased from 20 to 40°C. At a molar ratio of 1:1, MAG content decreased because of the significant increase in DAG content. Water has a profound influence on both MAG and DAG content through the entire course of reaction. The reaction rate increased significantly as enzyme loading increased up to 600 units. Vacuum was an effective method to reduce DAG content. The optimum temperature, molar ratio, water content, enzyme loading, vacuum, and reaction time were 20°C, 1:5 (fatty acid to glycerol), 2%, 600 units, 5 torr, and 24 h, respectively. MAG content further increased via lipase‐catalyzed second step esterification at subzero temperature. P. camembertii lipase exhibited esterification activity up to ?30°C. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012     

Lipase catalytic synthesis of diacylglycerol from tuna oil and its anti-obesity effect in C57BL/6J mice

Diacylglycerol (DAG) production by glycerolysis of glycerol with tuna oil was performed using lipases from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RMIM) and Candida antarctica (Novozyme 435). Lipozyme RMIM caused a clear estrific positional specificity in HPLC analysis and then the Lipozyme RMIM was chosen for the production of DAG. Moreover, the reaction parameter for DAG synthesis was determined by measuring mole ratio of glycerol/tuna oil, amount of enzyme, temperature and water contents. The optimal mole ratio for glycerol/tuna oil was established to be 3:1. Optimal conditions of lipase, water and temperature were 10%, 10% and 35 °C, respectively. Therefore, we have synthesized DAG from tuna oil under these optimal conditions and investigated the effect of the synthesized DAG on body weight and plasma biochemical markers of obesity in C57BL/6J mice. The consumption of DAG diet has effectively lessened body weight gain and final plasma total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and glucose levels compared to the high triacylglycerol (TAG) group.     

Response surface modeling of 1-stearoyl-3(2)-oleoyl glycerol production in a pilot packed-bed immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase reactor

A dual response approach using diacylglycerol (DAG) and triacylglycerol (TAG) as responses for optimization of 1-stearoyl-3(2)-oleoyl glycerol-enriched DAG synthesis using response surface methodology (RSM) was investigated. Four variables from a lipase-catalyzed esterification reaction were optimized using a central composite rotatable design. The following optimized conditions yielded 51 wt.% DAG and 22 wt.% TAG: reaction temperature of 55 °C, enzyme dosage of 9.5 wt.%, fatty acid/glycerol molar ratio of 2.1 and reaction time of 3 h. Results were repeatable at 10 kg production scale in a pilot packed-bed enzyme reactor. No significant losses in enzyme activity or changes in fatty acid selectivity on DAG synthesis were observed during the five pilot productions. Lipozyme RM IM showed selectivity towards the production of stearic acid enriched DAG. The purity of DAG oil after purification was 90 wt.%.     

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of partial glyceride

Summary Mucor miehei (IM 20) and Candida antarctica (SP 382) lipases were used for esterification of free fatty acids in the absence of organic solvent or transesterification of fatty acid methyl esters in hexane with isopropylidene glycerols. Acid catalyzed cleavage of the isopropylidene groups resulted in the formation of monoacyl glycerol (MAG) and diacyl glycerol (DAG). Both oleic (18:1 n-9) and eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA (20:5 n-3) were successfully incorporated into glycerides. Total acyl donor conversion ranged from 46.9 – 96.9% with MAG content of up to 88.5%.     

Recruiting a new substrate for triacylglycerol synthesis in plants: the monoacylglycerol acyltransferase pathway

Background

Monoacylglycerol acyltransferases (MGATs) are predominantly associated with lipid absorption and resynthesis in the animal intestine where they catalyse the first step in the monoacylglycerol (MAG) pathway by acylating MAG to form diacylglycerol (DAG). Typical plant triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis routes such as the Kennedy pathway do not include an MGAT step. Rather, DAG and TAG are synthesised de novo from glycerol-3-phosphate (G-3-P) by a series of three subsequent acylation reactions although a complex interplay with membrane lipids exists.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We demonstrate that heterologous expression of a mouse MGAT acyltransferase in Nicotiana benthamiana significantly increases TAG accumulation in vegetative tissues despite the low levels of endogenous MAG substrate available. In addition, DAG produced by this acyltransferase can serve as a substrate for both native and coexpressed diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGAT). Finally, we show that the Arabidopsis thaliana GPAT4 acyltransferase can produce MAG in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using oleoyl-CoA as the acyl-donor.

Conclusions/Significance

This study demonstrates the concept of a new method of increasing oil content in vegetative tissues by using MAG as a substrate for TAG biosynthesis. Based on in vitro yeast assays and expression results in N. benthamiana, we propose that co-expression of a MAG synthesising enzyme such as A. thaliana GPAT4 and a MGAT or bifunctional M/DGAT can result in DAG and TAG synthesis from G-3-P via a route that is independent and complementary to the endogenous Kennedy pathway and other TAG synthesis routes.     

Effect of water on lipase NS81006-catalyzed alcoholysis for biodiesel production

Biodiesel production catalyzed by free lipase has been drawing attention for its lower cost and faster reaction rate compared to immobilized lipase. It has been found that free lipase NS81006 could efficiently catalyze alkyl esters production and a certain amount of water is demonstrated to be necessary for the catalytic process. The effect of water content on liquid lipase NS81006-mediated methanolysis and ethanolysis for biodiesel production was first explored respectively in this paper. It was found that with water content ranging from 3% to 10% (based on oil weight), there was no significant difference in the final alkyl ester yield either in NS81006-mediated methanolysis or ethanolysis process, while the quality of biodiesel varied obviously. The acid value as well as the contents of monoglyceride and diglyceride were much lower in the lower water-containing system. With the water content decreasing from 10% to 3%, the acid value reduced from 8.24 to 4.89 mg KOH/g oil, and the content of MAG and DAG dropped to 0.31 and 0.22, from 0.62 and 0.74, respectively. Lipase could maintain rather good stability with proper alcohol adding strategy and the gradual reduction in biodiesel yield in the repeated uses resulted from the accumulation of by-product glycerol. The continuous running of lipase-mediated methanolysis of waste cooking oil was successfully realized at 30L reactor and a final methyl ester yield of over 90% could be obtained.     

Optimization of mono and diacylglycerols production from enzymatic glycerolysis in solvent-free systems

This work reports solvent-free enzymatic glycerolysis of olive oil with an immobilized lipase (Novozym 435) using Tween 40, Tween 65, Tween 80, Tween 85, Triton X-100, and soy lecithin as surfactants. The first step was the screening of two potential surfactants for Monoacylglycerol (MAG) and Diacylglycerol (DAG) production with a pre-established operating condition and 2 h of reaction time. Afterwards, a sequential experimental design strategy was carried out in order to optimize MAG and DAG production using Tween 65 and Triton X-100 as surfactants. The operating conditions that optimized MAG and DAG yields were 70 °C, stirring rate of 600 rpm, glycerol:olive oil molar ratio of 6:1, 16 wt% of surfactant Tween 65 and 9.0 wt% of Novozym 435, leading to a content of 26 and 17 wt% of MAG and DAG, respectively.     

Synthesis of monoglyceride containing omega-3 fatty acids by microbial lipase in organic solvent

Summary An enzymatic method for synthesis of monoglyceride from 1,2-isopropylidene glycerol and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrate was investigated in organic solvent. Optimal reaction conditions for monoglyceride synthesis by lipase were established. Lipase IM-60 fromMucor miehei produced yields of monoglyceride of up to 80% in this system. The resultant monoglyceride contained 76.2% n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (eicosapentaenoic acid 43.3%; docosahexaenoic acid, 32.7%). Isooctane and hexane were suitable organic solvents for monoglyceride synthesis and optimal initial water content was 2.5%. Lipase IM-60 was relatively stable in organic solvent and is easily recovered for reuse.     

Optimization of Candida sp. 99-125 lipase catalyzed esterification for synthesis of monoglyceride and diglyceride in solvent-free system

Esterification of glycerol and oleic acid catalyzed by lipase Candida sp. 99-125 was carried out to synthesize monoglyceride (MAG) and diglyceride (DAG) in solvent-free system. Beta-cyclodextrin as an assistant was mixed with the lipase powder. Six reaction variables, initial water content (0–14 wt% of the substrate mass), the glycerol/oleic acid molar ratio (1:1–6:1), catalyst load (3–15 wt% of the substrate mass), reaction temperature (30–60 °C), agitator speed (130–250 r/min) and beta-cyclodextrin/lipase mass ratio (0–2) were optimized. The optimal conditions to the synthesis of MAG and DAG were different: the optimal glycerol/oleic acid molar ratio, beta-cyclodextrin/lipase mass ratio, catalyst load and reaction temperature were 6:1, 0, 5%, 50 °C for MAG, and 5:1, 1.5, 10%, 40 °C for DAG, respectively. The optimal water content and agitator speed for both MAG and DAG were 10% and 190 r/min, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, 49.6% MAG and 54.3% DAG were obtained after 8 h and 4 h, respectively, and the maximum of 81.4% MAG plus DAG (28.1% MAG and 53.3% DAG) was obtained after 2 h under the DAG optimal condition. Above 90% purity of MAG and DAG can be obtained by silica column separation.     

Neat lipase-catalysed kinetic resolution of racemic 1-phenylethanol and a straightforward modelling of the reaction

Enzymatic kinetic resolution of racemic 1-phenylethanol catalysed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B was investigated in a neat system at the temperature range of 30–70?°C. Synthetic triglycerides, namely glycerol triacetate and glycerol tributyrate, were applied as the esterification agents. Both esterification agents were efficient regarding to the enantioselectivity (>1000). Initial rate of reaction and the kinetic constants were influenced by the applied esterification agent significantly. A detailed modelling approach is presented and verified in the temperature range on 30–60?°C for the tributyrin system.     

Analysis of Acyl Fluxes through Multiple Pathways of Triacylglycerol Synthesis in Developing Soybean Embryos

The reactions leading to triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis in oilseeds have been well characterized. However, quantitative analyses of acyl group and glycerol backbone fluxes that comprise extraplastidic phospholipid and TAG synthesis, including acyl editing and phosphatidylcholine-diacylglycerol interconversion, are lacking. To investigate these fluxes, we rapidly labeled developing soybean (Glycine max) embryos with [¹⁴C]acetate and [¹⁴C]glycerol. Cultured intact embryos that mimic in planta growth were used. The initial kinetics of newly synthesized acyl chain and glycerol backbone incorporation into phosphatidylcholine (PC), 1,2-sn-diacylglycerol (DAG), and TAG were analyzed along with their initial labeled molecular species and positional distributions. Almost 60% of the newly synthesized fatty acids first enter glycerolipids through PC acyl editing, largely at the sn-2 position. This flux, mostly of oleate, was over three times the flux of nascent [¹⁴C]fatty acids incorporated into the sn-1 and sn-2 positions of DAG through glycerol-3-phosphate acylation. Furthermore, the total flux for PC acyl editing, which includes both nascent and preexisting fatty acids, was estimated to be 1.5 to 5 times the flux of fatty acid synthesis. Thus, recycled acyl groups (16:0, 18:1, 18:2, and 18:3) in the acyl-coenzyme A pool provide most of the acyl chains for de novo glycerol-3-phosphate acylation. Our results also show kinetically distinct DAG pools. DAG used for TAG synthesis is mostly derived from PC, whereas de novo synthesized DAG is mostly used for PC synthesis. In addition, two kinetically distinct sn-3 acylations of DAG were observed, providing TAG molecular species enriched in saturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids.     

Selective enzymic esterification of free fatty acids with n-butanol under microwave irradiation and under classical heating

Selective enzymic esterification of free fatty acids, obtained from blackcurrant oil by chemical saponification, with n-butanol using four immobilized lipases under microwave irradiation and under classical heating was studied. A positive effect of microwave irradiation on chemical yields of the products of the enzymic reactions and specificity of lipases were observed in comparison with a controlled heating in an incubator equipped with shaking (classical heating) applied during the identical enzyme-mediated processes. The maximum quantity of -linolenic acid (30%) was obtained with Lipozyme used as biocatalyst of the reaction under microwave irradiation. The maximum quantity of butyl -linolenate (20%) was obtained by a Pseudomonas cepacia lipase catalyzed esterification under classical heating.     

Lipase catalyzed production of monoacylglycerols by the esterification of fish oil fatty acids with glycerol

In this study, we attempted the efficient production of monoacylglycerols (MAG) via the lipase-catalyzed esterification of glycerol with fatty acids obtained from sardine oil. The reaction factors that influenced MAG synthesis were the glycerol to fatty acid mole ratio, amount of enzyme, organic solvent, temperature, and the type of lipase used. Porcine pancreas lipase was selected to catalyze this reaction. The optimum conditions we determined for MAG synthesis were a glycerol to fatty acid mole ratio of 1∶6, 100 mg/mL of lipase, and 30°C in dioxane. Under these conditions, the MAG content was 68% (w/w) after 72 h of reaction. The MAGs synthesized via the lipase-catalyzed esterification of glycerol with fatty acids included monomyristin, monopamiltin, and monoolein, as identified by GCMS.     

Rapid enzymatic production of acylglycerols from conjugated linoleic acid and glycerol in a solvent-free system

Rates and product distributions have been determined for the consecutive esterification reactions of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) with glycerol in the presence of an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase from Novo Nordisk (Lipozyme IM). In a solvent-free environment, both rates and product distributions are affected by the ratio of reactants, temperature, and hydration level. For mole ratios of CLA to glycerol ranging from 1/1 to 3/1, incorporation of at least 95% of the original CLA into the product acylglycerols was achieved in less than 7 h of reaction at 50°C. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

Production of extremely pure diacylglycerol from soybean oil by lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis

Research work was objectively targeted to synthesize highly pure diacylglycerol (DAG) with glycerolysis of soybean oil in a solvent medium of t-butanol. Three commercial immobilized lipases (Lipozyme RM IM, Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435) were screened, and Novozym 435 was the best out of three candidates. Batch reaction conditions of the enzymatic glycerolysis, the substrate mass ratio, the reaction temperature and the substrate concentration, were studied. The optimal reaction conditions were achieved as 6.23:1 mass ratio of soybean oil to glycerol, 40% (w/v) of substrate concentration in t-butanol and reaction temperature of 50 °C. A two-stage molecular distillation was employed for purification of DAG from reaction products. Scale-up was attempted based on the optimized reaction conditions, 98.7% (24 h) for the conversion rate of soybean oil, 48.5% of DAG in the glycerolysis products and 96.1% for the content of DAG in the final products were taken in account as the results.     

Enzymatic synthesis of isoamyl butyrate using immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase in non-aqueous media

Isoamyl butyrate, an important fruity flavor ester, was synthesized using Rhizomucor miehei lipase immobilized on a weak anion exchange resin (Lipozyme IM-20) by the esterification of isoamyl alcohol and butyric acid. The effects of various reaction parameters such as substrate and enzyme concentrations, substrate molar ratio, temperature and incubation time have been investigated. Yields above 90% were obtained with substrate concentrations as high as 2.0 M. No evidence of enzyme inhibition by butyric acid was present up to 1.0 M concentration. Acid inhibition and, to a small extent, alcohol inhibition were evident above 1.0 M substrate concentration. Conversions reached a saturation value by the end of 24–48 h of incubation due to the accumulation of the water of reaction. The equilibrium was successfully pushed forward towards esterification by removing the accumulated water using a molecular sieve.Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2000) 25, 147–154. Received 09 February 2000/ Accepted in revised form 24 June 2000     

Continuous production of monoacylglycerols from palm olein in packed-bed reactor with immobilized lipase PS

A packed-bed reactor (PBR) system using immobilized lipase PS as biocatalyst was developed for continuous monoacylglycerols (MAG) production. The condition for continuous MAG production using immobilized lipase PS (IM-PS) of 1.5 g (550 U) in PBR (0.68 cm i.d., 25 cm long) was optimized. The effect of molar ratio of glycerol to palm olein, water content in glycerol and residence time on MAG production was investigated. The optimal glycerol to palm olein molar ratio and water content in glycerol were 12:1 and 10% (w/w), respectively. The yield of MAG increased with increasing residence time. At a residence time of 7.5 h gave the highest yield of MAG of 60%. The long-term operation gave the highest yield of MAG 61.5% at 24 h of the operation time with the productivity of 1.61 g MAG/day. A half-life of the long-term process was 35 days of the operation time with the productivity of 0.81 g MAG/day. Furthermore, the large scale of MAG production was performed continuously with IM-PS of 15 g (5500 U) in PBR (1.5 cm i.d., 50 cm long). The highest yield of MAG in large-scale operation of 70.1% and the 11-fold increasing in productivity of 18.3 g MAG/day were obtained at 24 h of the operation time.     

Optimization of Synthesis of Ethyl Isovalerate Using Rhizomucor miehei Lipase

Immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme IM-20) was used to catalyze the esterification reaction between isovaleric acid and ethanol to synthesize ethyl isovalerate in n-hexane. Response surface methodology based on a four-variable, five-level, central composite rotatable design was employed to optimize four important reaction variables—enzyme/substrate (E/S) ratio, substrate concentration, incubation time, and temperature—affecting the synthesis of ethyl isovalerate. The optimum conditions predicted for achieving maximum ester yield (500 mM) are as follows: E/S ratio, 48.41 g/mol; substrate concentration, 1 M; reaction time, 60 h; and temperature, 60°C. The predicted value matched well with the experimentally obtained value of 487 mM.