Transesterification of cocoa butter by fungal lipases: Effect of solvent on 1,3‐specificity

Abstract

Transesterification and alcoholysis reactions catalyzed by immobilized lipases from Mucor miehei and Humicola lanuginosa in hexane gave fatty acid esters that did not reflect the expected 1,3‐specificity of the enzymes, due to competing acyl migrations in the partial glyceride products. However, both lipases were 1,3‐specific in reactions when diethyl ether was used as a solvent, and this provided a convenient analytical methodology in combination with gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the determination of fatty acid distribution within triglycerides.