Immobilized Phospholipase A(1)-Catalyzed Preparation Of L-Alpha-Glycerylphosphorylcholine From Phosphatidylcholine

This study sought to prepare a cognitive enhancer L-alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (L-alpha-GPC) using an immobilized Lecitase Ultra (LU, phospholipase A(1)) to catalyze the hydrolysis of soy phosphatidylcholine (PC). Immobilization of LU on Lewatit VP OC 1600 provided the highest fixation level (83.1 g/100 g) and greatest catalytic activity achieving 100 g/100 g L-alpha-GPC within 20 h and was therefore selected as the optimal system for biocatalysis. Immobilization of LU increased its positional specificity compared to free LU, as shown by a decrease in the production of the phosphocholine byproduct. Under the optimal conditions determined by response surface methodology, PC was completely hydrolyzed to L-alpha-GPC and required a simple purification via phase separation of the biphasic media to obtain a yield of similar to 26.4 g L-alpha-GPC from 100 g PC, with a purity of 98.5 g/100 g. Our findings suggest a possibility of using the immobilized LU as a new biocatalyst for the L-alpha-GPC production.