Biocatalyzed acidolysis of soybean oil triacylglycerols to increase oleic acid content

Lipase catalyzed acidolysis of triacylglycerols (TAG) of soybean oil with oleic acid in organic solvent was studied; immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei was used and the effects of reaction time, incubation temperature and enzyme load on TAG total and positional fatty acid (FA) percentage compositions were investigated. The results show that oleic acid incorporation was high after 24 and 48 h, while after 72 h a lower level of oleic acid in TAG was observed. Moreover, for the reactions carried out at 30 and 40 degrees C, it was observed that the oleic acid level was about 46.5% while ligtly higher values (about 49%) were observed at 50 degrees C; however, under this last condition, th…