Preparation of human milk fat substitutes from basa catfish oil: Combination of enzymatic acidolysis and modeled blending

Human milk fat substitutes (HMFSs) were prepared from basa catfish oil by combination of Lipozyme RM IM‐catalyzed acidolysis and physical blending. In acidolysis step, sesame oil fatty acids were used as acyl donors to replace palmitic acid (PA) at sn‐1, 3 positions of basa catfish oil, and the enzymatic product had 23.8% PA, 48.3% PA at sn‐2 position (sn‐2 PA), and 67.7% distribution probability of sn‐2 PA among total PA (%sn‐2 PA) under the selected conditions: Enzyme load, 8 wt%; temperature, 40°C; substrate molar ratio, 1:3; water content, 3.5 wt%; and reaction time, 2 h. In blending step, with fatty acid profiles of human milk fat (HMF) as a preferable goal, selected oils were added to the enzymatic product, and the desirable formula predicted by the blending model which guaranteed the maximum addition constituted enzymatic product/flaxseed oil/sunflower oil/palm kernel oil/palm stearin/algal oil/microbial oil at a mole ratio of 1: 0.1319: 0.0353: 0.1775: 0.0674: 0.0078: 0.0128. The blending product had 21.5% PA, 39.0% sn‐2 PA, and 60.4% %sn‐2 PA, respectively. The similarity of the product to HMF was assessed by the evaluation model, and the achievement of high scores indicated it has potential for use as fat substitute in infant formulas. Practical applications: Basa catfish oil was found to contain around 30% total PA with more than 45% sn‐2 PA, which is a new alternative starting material suitable for HMFS production. Basa catfish is widely cultured in southern Vietnam in floating cages with annual production of 15 000 tonnes. Preparation of HMFSs from basa catfish oil is thus important for the development of HMFSs. This process reported preparation of HMFSs by combination of enzymatic acidolysis and modeled blending, with the attributes of lower cost and higher similarity, has great potential for industrial uses. Human milk fat substitutes (HMFSs) were prepared from basa catfish oil by combination of Lipozyme RM IM‐catalyzed acidolysis and physical blending. In the acidolysis step, free fatty acids from sesame oil were used as acyl donors to replace palmitic acid (PA) at sn‐1, 3 positions of basa catfish oil. In the blending step, with the fatty acid profiles of human milk fat (HMF) as a preferable goal, selected oils were added to the enzymatic product and the desirable formula was predicted by the physical blending model which could guarantee the maximum addition. The final product had 21.5% of total PA, 39.0% of PA at sn‐2 position,and the relative content of PA at the sn‐2 position was 60.4%. High scores for the similarity of the product to HMF were obtained, which was evaluated by the established model, indicating the great potential of the product as a fat substitute for infant formulas.