Esterification of polyunsaturated fatty acids with lipases from different sources

Summary Enzymatically catalyzed esterification between glycerol and polyunsaturated fatty acids were studied for six lipases of different biological origin. Most efficient was lipase from Mucor miehei (yeast) and Chromobacterium viscosum (bacterium) which incorporated free fatty acids in the glycerol to 75% and 80%, respectively. Both lipases showed a slight preference for oleic acid. M. miehei lipase incorporated eicosapentaenoic acid at the same level as the acid occurred in the free fatty acid fraction while C. viscosum lipase incorporated the acid at a lesser level. Both lipases esterified less docosahexaenoic acid.