Structure‐guided preparation of fuctional oil rich in 1,3‐diacylglycerols and linoleic acid from Camellia oil by combi‐lipase

Abstract Background Diacylglycerol (DAG)‐enriched oil has been attracting attention because of its nutritional benefits and biological functions, although the composition of its various free fatty acids (FFAs) and an unclear relationship between substrate and yield make it difficult to be identified and qualified with respect to its production. In the present study, linoleic acid‐enriched diacylglycerol (LA‐DAG) was synthesized and enriched from Camellia oil by the esterification process using the combi‐lipase Lipozyme TL IM/RM IM system. Results The relationship between FFA composition and DAG species productivity was revealed. The results showed that heterogeneous FFA with a major constituent (more than 50%) exhibited higher DAG productivity and inhibited triacylglycerol productivity compared to homogeneous constituents. Joint characterization by high‐performance liquid chromatography‐evaporative light scattering detection, gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry and ultra‐performance liquid chromatography‐heated electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry identified that DAG components contained dilinoleic acid acyl glyceride, linoleyl‐oleyl glyceride and dioleic acid acyl glyceride in esterification products. Under the optimum conditions, 60.4% 1,3‐DAG and 61.3% LA‐DAG in the crude product at 1 h reaction were obtained, and further purified to 81.7% LA‐DAG and 94.7% DAG via silica column chromatography. Conclusion The present study provides a guideline for the identification of DAG species, as well as a structure‐guided preparation method of DAG‐enriched oils via the cost‐effective combi‐lipase. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.