Estudo sobre a modificação do óleo vegetal de soja por interesterificação catalisada com a lipase Eversa Transform 2.0 para a produção de lipídios estruturados

Abstract

This work presents a study on the use of the lipase enzyme Eversa Transform 2.0 in the interesterification of soybean vegetable oil, aiming to promote a rearrangement of fatty acid chains within the triacylglycerol molecule in order to obtain a structured lipid for application in the plant-based food industry. The composition of different vegetable oils with potential for blend formation was analysed. However, the initial synthesis trials were carried out exclusively with soybean oil in order to establish and optimize the reaction conditions. Thus, the effects of temperature and enzyme loading on the synthesis were investigated through the analysis of the composition of the vegetable oil and the synthesis products, as well as their structural conformation. The methodology adopted for these analyses was gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Structural changes were evaluated through the analysis of the sn-2 position of triacylglycerols, using the pancreatic lipase hydrolysis methodology, an enzyme present in pancreatin. A critical analysis of simplifying adaptations to this methodology was also performed in order to determine a more reproducible experimental approach. These adaptations included the removal of the thin-layer chromatography step, the exclusion of bile salts from the reaction system, and the use of hexane as an alternative solvent to diethyl ether. The results of the critical analysis of the pancreatic lipase hydrolysis methodology supported the maintenance of the thin-layer chromatography step for the characterization of the sn-2 position of triacylglycerols, as well as the use of bile salts in the reaction medium and diethyl ether as the extraction solvent, although the complexity of the method limits its application to a large experimental matrix. The synthesis results after 6 hours of reaction were more favourable under the conditions of 60 °C with 150 μL of enzyme, 70 °C with 300 μL of enzyme, and 80 °C with 150 μL of enzyme, which led to increases of up to 54% in saturated fatty acids at the sn-2 position compared to pure soybean oil. These findings contribute to the establishment of suitable reaction conditions for the enzymatic interesterification of soybean oil using the Eversa Transform 2.0 enzyme and to the validation of the structural analysis of triacylglycerols, providing a basis for the development of structured lipids with potential applications in plant-based industry.