A photobiocatalytic cascade transforming natural triglycerides into alkanes/alkenes is proposed. Starting from natural triglycerides, free fatty acids have been obtained using lipases. The free fatty acids were then, in a photoenzymatic step, decarboxylated into the C1‐shortened alkanes using a recently described photodecarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis NC64A. This cascade produced alkanes from various natural (waste) oils in significant amounts (up to 24 g L−1) and may provide a basis for valorisation of waste oils into a next generation of biodiesel.

Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) are proposed as alternative solvents for peroxygenase‐catalysed oxyfunctionalization reactions. Choline chloride‐based NADES are of particular interest as they can serve as solvent, enzyme‐stabiliser and sacrificial electron donor for the in situ H2O2 generation. This report provides the first proof‐of‐concept and basic characterisation of this new reaction system. Highly promising turnover numbers for the biocatalysts of up to 200,000 have been achieved.

The use of natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) as multifunctional solvents for limonene bioprocessing was reported. NADES were used for the extraction of limonene from orange peel wastes, as solvent for the chemoenzymatic epoxidation of limonene, and as sacrificial electron donor for the in situ generation of H2O2 to promote the epoxidation reaction. The proof‐of‐concept for this multifunctional use was provided, and the scope and current limitations of the concept were outlined.

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α‐Linolenic acid‐rich diacylglycerol has been demonstrated with promising health promotion functions. This study examined the production, immobilization of lipase PCL, and its application in the synthesis of diacylglycerol by esterification of α‐linolenic acid with glycerol. The resin ECR8806 was selected as an effective support for the immobilization of lipase PCL. Fourier transform infrared and Laser scanning confocal microscope analysis proved that the lipase was successfully immobilized on the resin. Compared with the free PCL, the immobilized one exhibited higher temperature tolerance. Under optimized reaction conditions, a DAG content of 54.49% were obtained. After further purified by molecular distillation, the purity of DAG was up to 99.28%. During esterification, the immobilized PCL was quite stable and retained more than 91.60% of its initial activity after 10 cycles. These new findings on the immobilized PCL will make it to be a prospective enzyme in oils and fats industry. Practical applications Immobilized PCL, a monoacylglycerol and diacylglycerol lipase, was first employed to synthesis of a high purity α‐linolenic acid‐rich diacylglycerol. The improved biocatalytic performance and reusability of the lipase make it to be a promising catalyst in industrial application.

A bienzymatic cascade for selective sulfoxidation is presented. The evolved recombinant peroxygenase from Agrocybe aegeritra catalyses the enantioselective sulfoxidation of thioanisole whereas the choline oxidase from Arthrobacter nicotianae provides the H2O2 necessary via reductive activation of ambient oxygen. The reactions are performed in choline chloride‐based deep eutectic solvents serving as co‐solvent and stoichiometric reductant at the same time. Very promising product concentrations (up to 15 mM enantiopure sulfoxide) and catalyst performances (turnover numbers of 150,000 and 2100 for the peroxygenase and oxidase, respectively) have been achieved.

Triterpenoid compounds are one of the main functional components in jujube fruit. In this study, the optimal process for ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of total triterpenoids from jujube fruit was determined using response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions were as follows: temperature of 55.14 °C, ethanol concentration of 86.57%, time of 34.41 min, and liquid-to-solid ratio of 39.33 mL/g. The triterpenoid yield was 19.21 ± 0.25 mg/g under optimal conditions. The triterpenoid profiles and antioxidant activity were further analyzed. Betulinic acid, alphitolic acid, maslinic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid were the dominant triterpenoid acids in jujube fruits. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the major triterpenic acids and antioxidant activities. The variations of triterpenoid profiles and antioxidant activity within the jujube fruits and the degree of variation were evaluated by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), respectively. The results provide important guidance for the quality evaluation and industrial application of jujube fruit.

A biocatalytic cascade transforming castor oil into (R,Z)-octadec-9-en-7-ol is presented by combining a lipase catalysed hydrolysis of castor oil into ricinoleic acid followed by a photoenzymatic decarboxylation into (R,Z)-octadec-9-en-7-ol.