Abstract:
Palm stearin (PS) and rice bran oil (RBO) blends of varying proportions were subjected to enzymatic interesterification (EIE) using a 1,3 specific immobilized lipase. The interesterified blends were evaluated for their physicochemical characteristics and bioactive phytochemical contents using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The blends of PS and RBO in different proportions (40:60, 50:50, 60:40 and 70:30) had saturated fatty acid content and unsaturated fatty acid content in the range of 37.6-52.0% and 48.0-62.4%, respectively. The blends 40:60, 50:50 and 60:40 showed a considerable reduction in their highest melt peak temperature (T(P)) and solid fat content (SFC) on EIE. The interesterified blends retained bioactive phytochemicals like tocols (839-1172 ppm), sterols (4318-9647 ppm), oryzanols (3000-6800 ppm) and carotene (121-180 ppm). XRD studies demonstrated that the interesterified blends contained beta and beta polymorphic forms.
