Preparation of sn-2 long-chain polyunsaturated monoacylglycerols from fish oil by hydrolysis with a stereospecific lipase from mucor miehei

The preparation of sn-2 eicosapentaenoyi glycerol and sn-2 docosahexaenoyi glycerol by the hydrolysis of fish oil by the sn-1, sn-3 stereo-specific immobilised lipase (Lipozyme IM-20) from mucor miehei is described. Monoacylglycerols obtained after the enzymatic hydrolysis were separated by silver nitrate-coated silicic acid column chromatography Both monoacylglycerols can be individually separated in almost pure form by elution from the column with a solvent mixture. The preparation of sn-2 substituted monoacylglycerols from marine origin allows their utilization as substrates for the synthesis of structured long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing triacylglycerols at specific positions.