Papaya (Carica papaya) lipase with some distinct acyl and alkyl specificities as compared with microbial lipases

Lipase from papaya (Carica papaya) latex (CPL), Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435, NOV) and Rhizomucor miehei lipase (Lipozyme IM 20, LIP) were used as biocatalysts for the esterification of caprylic acid with straight-chain saturated C(4)-C(18) alcohols and unsaturated C(18) alcohols, such as cis-9-octadecenyl (oleyl, C(18:1), n-9), cis-6-octadecenyl (petroselinyl, C(18:1), n-12), cis-9,cis-12-octadecadienyl (linoleyl, C(18:2), n-6), all-cis-9,12,15-octadecatrienyl (alpha-linolenyl, C(18:3), n-3) and all-cis-6,9,12-octadecatrienyl (gamma-linolenyl, C(18:3), n-6) alcohols. With CPL, highest activity was found in the esterification of octanol and decanol, whereas both NOV and LIP showed a broad chain-length-specificity for the alcohols. CPL, as opposed to the microbial lipases, strongly discriminated against all the saturated long-chain ( > C(12)) and unsaturated C(18) alcohols.