Enzymatic Synthesis of Human Milk Fat Substitute - A Review on Technological Approaches

Abstract

Human milk fat substitute (HMFS) is a structured lipid designed to resemble human milk fat. It contains 60-70 % palmitic acid at the sn-2 position and unsaturated fatty acids at the sn-1,3 positions in triacylglycerol structures. HMFS is synthesized by the enzymatic interesterification of vegetable oils, animal fats, or blend of oils. The efficiency of HMFS synthesis can be enhanced through the selection of appropriate substrates, enzymes, and reaction methods. This review focuses on the synthesis of HMFS by lipase-catalyzed interesterification. This work provides a detailed overview of biocatalysts, substrates, synthesis methods, factors influencing the synthesis, and purification process of HMFS. Major challenges and future research in the synthesis of HMFS are also discussed. This review can be used as an information for developing future strategies in producing HMFS.

Future of Structured Lipids: Enzymatic Synthesis and Their New Applications in Food Systems

“…Transesterification is a reaction between a TAG and TAG or an ester, usually occurring between oils rich in sn 2 palmitoyl and sn 1,3 oleoyl. Due to its simplicity, a one-step enzymatic method has been used in many studies, but it also has some disadvantages, such as the difficulty in converting intermediate DAG to HMFS and the complexity of purification due to the existence of byproducts [ 108 , 109 ]. To overcome these shortcomings, researchers have studied multistep enzymatic catalytic reactions (alcoholysis and esterification, acidolysis and acidolysis, transesterification and acidolysis, etc.).…”

“…( c ) The main enzymatic synthesis methods of EPA- and DHA-enriched TAG [ 86 , 88 , 90 , 92 ]. ( d ) The main enzymatic synthesis methods of human milk fat substitutes [ 108 , 109 ]. (R, M, L, C 18 C 34 O 2 , C 16 H 32 O 2 , C 18 H 32 O 2 represent fatty acids, medium-chain fatty acids, long-chain fatty acids, oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, respectively).…”

Progress and perspectives of enzymatic preparation of human milk fat substitutes

“…However, the compositions of triacylglycerols in vegetable oils differ greatly from those contained in HMF. High palmitic acid (PA, C16:0) content at sn-1,3 positions will lead to the formation of calcium soap, further cause loss of minerals, constipation, abdominal pain and intestinal blockage [3,4]. Therefore, the preparation of HMFS with high similarity to HMF has received extensive attention.…”

“…It is recognized that HMF contains more than two hundred kinds of fatty acids, in which palmitic acid (20-30%), oleic acid (OA, C18:1) (25-40%) and linoleic acid (LA, C18:2) (10-30%) are the most abundant [2,[4][5][6]. About 60-70% palmitic acid is esterified at sn-2 position, whereas sn-1,3 positions are mainly occupied by unsaturated fatty acids.…”

“…Due to the mild reaction conditions and high selectivity of enzymes, lipase-mediated preparation of HMFS is preferred and has been drawing increasing interest in recent Open Access Biotechnology years [4,11]. The selectivity of lipase makes it possible to synthesize HMFS with desirable fatty acid composition and distribution.…”