Synthesis of medium-chain glycerides using lipase from Candida rugosa

Enzymatic synthesis of medium-chain glycerides (MCC) from capric acid and glycerol was studied using lipase from Candida rugosa: The effects of various reaction parameters such as time, molar ratio of substrates (mmol capric acid/mmol glycerol), amount Of lipase, type of organic solvents, and initial water activity (a(w)) were studied. The best conditions tested for MCC synthesis at 37 degrees C were, respectively, lime, 24 h; molar ratio of substrates, 2.5; and:amount of lipase, 100.0 mg. The use of organic solvents greatly influenced the activity of lipase in the synthesis of MCG. Generally, activity of lipase was high in nonpolar solvents with log P values from 3.50 to 4.50, where P is the partition coefficient between water and 1-octanol. The enzymatic synthesis of MCG was prefer ably carried out at an initial a(w) of 0.328, which resulted in maximal yield. Analysis of the products of reaction using gas chromatography showed that lipase from Candida rugosa seemed to produce more dicaprin and tricaprin than monoraprin.