Enrichment of omega-3 fatty acids in flax seed oil by alkaline lipase of Aspergillus fumigatus MTCC 9657

Abstract

Flax seed oil obtained from the seeds of flax plant(Linum usitatissimum, L.) is an unexploited source which contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Flax seed oil is hydrolysed with a novel alkaline lipase from Aspergillus fumigatus MTCC 9657 for the removal of unwanted fatty acids and enrichment of omega-3 fatty acids. An appropriate balance of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and enzymatic enrichment of polyunsaturated fatty acids in diet promote nutrition and health. Fatty acid composition shows that flax seed oil contains about 26.80%, 13.5% and 25.45% of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in triglyceride (TG), diglyceride (DG) and monoglyceride (MG), respectively. After 8h of hydrolysis, omega-3 content was increased to 39% in TG, showing that unwanted saturated fatty acids are removed. omega-6 content of triglycerides in flax seed oil also showed 54.76% increase after 8h of hydrolysis. An enzymatic method of hydrolysis by fungal lipase was developed by this study and achieved to concentrate the essential fatty acids linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linoleic acids (ALA).