The Amazon oils have a great potential to apply in cosmetics, drugs and functional foods and has huge unexplored nutritional and biological potential. The fatty bases production with better physicochemical properties and high nutritional and biological potential is an eminent need to industrial application. The changes in the original triacylglycerol composition modified the physical and biological properties of restructured triacylglycerol, thus increasing the potential applications of these lipids.
The aim of this work was to evaluate the biological potential, by measuring the antioxidant capacity, of selected Amazon oils and new oils generated by enzymatic interesterification with NOVOZYME lipases (TL-IM) catalysis. The fats chosen for this study were: Buriti oil, known for its antioxidant capacity; and Muru-muru fat.
The results obtained of regiospecific distribution of fatty acids on triacylglycerol (13C NMR) indicate the production of an oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids at the positions sn-1,3. The concentration of unsaturated fatty acids at positions sn-1, 3 of triacylglycerol increased from 33.5% in the original blend, to 54.5% in the new oil produced by enzymatic interesterification. The antioxidant capacity of the Amazon oils was tested against DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hidrazyl-hidrate) free radical.
The results showed that the high antioxidant capacity of the Buriti oil was preserved after the interesterification reaction with the Muru-muru fat. These new fatty bases demonstrated improved technological characteristics associated to an enormous biological potential, which is characterized by higher content of unsaturated fatty acids in the position sn-1,3 and the maintenance of the elevated antioxidant potential of the original oils.