Enrichment of γ‐linolenic acid from evening primrose oil and borage oilvia lipase‐catalyzed hydrolysis

Lipase‐catalyzed selective partial hydrolysis of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis L.) seed oil and borage (Borago officinalis L.) seed oil led to an increase in the level of γ‐linolenic acid (GLA; 18∶3n−6) in the unhydrolyzed acylglycerols. Thus, in evening primrose oil, the GLA level could be raised from 9.4% in the starting material to 46.5% in the unhydrolyzed acylglycerols by means of a lipase fromCandida cylindracea. Selective hydrolysis of borage oil with Pancreatin led to an increase in the GLA content from 20.4% in the oil to 33.5% in the unhydrolyzed acylglycerols. Partial hydrolysis of borage oil with lipase fromC. cylindracea raised the GLA content of the acylglycerols to 47.8%.