Production of MAG of CLA by esterification with dehydration at ordinary temperature using Penicillium camembertii lipase

Production of MAG with CLA using Penicillium camembertii mono- and diacylglycerol lipase (referred to as lipase) was attempted for the purpose of expanding the application of CLA. The commercial product of CLA (referred to as FFA-CLA) is a FFA mixture containing almost equal amounts of 9 cis ,11 trans (9 c ,11 t )-CLA and 10 t ,12 c -CLA. Esterification of FFA-CLA with glycerol without dehydration achieved 84% esterification but produced almost equal amounts of MAG and DAG. Esterification with dehydration not only achieved a high degree of esterification but also suppressed the formation of DAG. When a mixture of FFA-CLA/glycerol (1∶2, mol/mol), 1% water, and 200 units/g-mixture of P. camembertii lipase was agitated at 30°C for 72 h with dehydration at 5 mm Hg, the degree of esterification reached 95% and the contents of MAG and DAG were 90 and 6 wt%, respectively. This reaction system may be applied to the industrial production of MAG with unstable CLA.