Medium-and long-chain triacylglycerol (MLCT) is a modified lipid containing medium-chain (C6-C12) and long-chain fatty acids (C14-C24) in the same triacylglycerol (TAG) molecule. It can be produced either through enzymatic (with 1,3 specific or nonspecific enzyme) or chemical methods. The specialty of this structured lipid is that it is metabolized differently compared to conventional fats and oils, which can lead to a reduction of fat accumulation in the body. Therefore, it can be used for obesity management. It also contains nutritional properties that can be used to treat metabolic problems. This review will discuss on the health benefits of MLCT, its production methods especially via enzymatic processes and its applications in food industries.

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Non-enzymatic browning has been a wide and interesting research area in the food industry, ranging from the complexity of the reaction to its applications in the food industry as well as its ever-debatable health effects. This review provides a new perspective to the Maillard reaction apart from its ubiquitous function in enhancing food flavour, taste and appearance. It focuses on the recent application of Maillard reaction products as an inexpensive and excellent source of emulsifiers as well as superior encapsulating matrices for the entrapment of bioactive compounds. Additionally, it will also discuss the latest approaches employed to perform the Maillard reaction as well as several important reaction parameters that need to be taken into consideration when conducting the Maillard reaction. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Enzymatic production of diacylglycerol (DAG)-enriched oil has been investigated extensively due to its health benefits with total annual sales of approximately USD 200 million in Japan since its introduction in the late 1990s till 2009. Enzymatic catalysis had been proven to exhibit improved results with respect to yield, purity, reaction time, and stability in comparison with chemical catalysis. The cost of the enzymes, however, is the main hurdle to the widespread use of enzyme for commercial DAG production. This paper attempts to review and summarize various lipase-mediated technological methods for DAG production. Critical aspects such as process considerations on DAG synthesis, mass transfer limitations as well as kinetic mechanism models developed for each enzymatic approach in DAG synthesis are also presented and discussed. In addition, possible reactor configurations were evaluated, if lipase-assisted DAG production is to be technically and economically feasible at an industrial scale.

Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a world leading anti-obesity functional cooking oil synthesized via structural modification of conventional fats and oils. DAG exits in three stereoisomers namely sn-1,2-DAG, sn-1,3-DAG, and sn-2,3-DAG. DAG particularly sn-1,3-DAG demonstrated to have the potential in suppressing body fat accumulation and lowering postprandial serum triacylglycerol, cholesterol and glucose level. DAG also showed to improve bone health. This is attributed to DAG structure itself that caused it to absorb and digest via different metabolic pathway than conventional fats and oils. With its purported health benefits, many studies attempt to enzymatically or chemically synthesis DAG through various routes. DAG has also received wide attention as low calorie fat substitute and has been incorporated into various food matrixes. Despite being claimed as healthy cooking oil the safety of DAG still remained uncertain. DAG was banned from sale as it was found to contain probable carcinogen glycidol fatty acid esters. The article aims to provide a comprehensive and latest review of DAG emphasizing on its structure and properties, safety and regulation, process developments, metabolism and beneficial health attributes as well as its applications in the food industry.

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Structured lipid such as medium-and long-chain triacylglycerol (MLCT) is claimed to be able to suppress body fat accumulation and be used to manage obesity. Response surface methodology (RSM) with four factors and three levels (+1,0,-1) faced centered composite design (FCCD) was employed for optimization of the enzymatic interesterification conditions of palm-based MLCT (P-MLCT) production. The effect of the four variables namely: substrate ratio palm kernel oil: palm oil, PKO:PO (40:60-100:0 w/w), temperature (50-70 °C), reaction time (0.5-7.5 h) and enzyme load (5-15 % w/w) on the P-MLCT yield (%) and by products (%) produced were investigated. The responses were determined via acylglycerol composition obtained from high performance liquid chromatography. Well-fitted models were successfully established for both responses: P-MLCT yield (R (2) = 0.9979) and by-products (R (2) = 0.9892). The P-MLCT yield was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by substrate ratio, reaction time and reaction temperature but not enzyme load (P > 0.05). Substrate ratio PKO: PO (100:0 w/w) gave the highest yield of P-MLCT (61 %). Nonetheless, substrate ratio of PKO: PO (90:10w/w) was chosen to improve the fatty acid composition of the P-MLCT. The optimized conditions for substrate ratio PKO: PO (90:10 w/w) was 7.26 h, 50 °C and 5 % (w/w) Lipozyme TLIM lipase, which managed to give 60 % yields of P-MLCT. Up scaled results in stirred tank batch reactor gave similar yields as lab scale. A 20 % increase in P-MLCT yield was obtained via RSM. The effect of enzymatic interesterification on the physicochemical properties of PKO:PO (90:10 w/w) were also studied. Thermoprofile showed that the P-MLCT oil melted below body temperature of 37 °C.

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