Transesterification of conjugated linoleic acid and tricaprylin by lipases in organic solvents

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of tricaprylin with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) ethyl ester was performed to produce triacylglycerols containing conjugated linoleic acid. Six commercially available lipases, and seven solvents were screened for their ability to incorporate CLA into tricaprylin. The transesterification reaction was performed by incubating a 1:2 mole ratio of tricaprylin and CLA ethyl ester in 3 ml solvents at 55°C, and the products were analyzed by gas chromatography. Three lipases, Novozym 435, Lipozym IM and lipase PS-C were chosen to allow a comparison of transesterification activity in our model reaction. The highest CLA incorporation with Novozym 435 and Lipozym IM was achieved in hexane while isooctane produced the highest CLA incorporation with lipase PS-C. Lipase PS-C gave higher CLA incorporation into tricaprylin when fatty acid was used as the acyl donor than other lipases did. Lipozym IM and lipase PS-C had not restrict specificity to sn-1, 3 positions, even though they had high specificity at sn-1, 3 positions. Novozym 435 among lipases tested was the most effective on the incorporation of CLA into tricaprylin.