No abstract

Because of their unique fatty acid specificities and regioselectivities, lipases have been found to be effective catalysts for the synthesis of structured lipids that have a predetermined composition and distribution of fatty acyl groups on the glycerol backbone. The prospective plant-derived lipase found in the exudate of Carica papaya is known for its shortchain acyl group specificity, 1,3-glycerol regioselectivity, and sn-3 stereoselectivity. Carica papaya latex (CPL) was therefore examined for its potential ability to synthesize structured lowcalorie short-and long-chain triacylglycerols (SLCT). In this paper, we describe the utility of CPL in the lipase-catalyzed interesterification reaction of triacetin and hydrogenated soybean oil. Normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, combined with mass spectrometry, was used to distinguish the structured SLCT synthesized using the lipase from the corresponding SLCT produced by chemical synthesis.

A method for the determination of methanol using alcohol oxidase, peroxidase, and 2,2‘-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) was developed. The procedure, which uses alcohol oxidase, is advantageous over other photometric procedures in that a subsequent reduction step is eliminated. The use of peroxidase and ABTS offers the further advantage of sensitive detection of the formed hydrogen peroxide. The sensitivity of the assay is 0.05−1.0 μg/(mL of methanol). Moreover, the procedure is very rapid. The methyl ester content in a sample of pectin was determined from the methanol liberated upon its alkaline hydrolysis. Keywords: Pectin; methanol; degree of esterification; alcohol oxidase; peroxidase; ABTS