A lumped model of the lipase catalyzed hydrolysis of sardine oil to maximize polyunsaturated fatty acids content in acylglycerols.

The aim of this work was to produce diacylglycerols (DAG) and monoacylglycerols (MAG) with a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Rhizomucor miehei lipase mediated-hydrolysis of sardine oil was conducted at several water activities. The system was mechanistically modeled to predict the time evolution of the concentration of triacylglycerols, DAG, MAG and free fatty acids (FFA) and the concentration of saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The release of the first fatty acid from the triacylglycerol was independent on the unsaturation degree. Contrary, the hydrolysis of the second one was highly affected by the degree of unsaturation, PUFA being the fatty acids that showed the highest resistance to hydrolysis. MAG percentage was maximum (7mol%) at lower water activities, while DAG content was favored at higher water activities (35mol%), achieving a 2-fold concentration of DHA.