Synthesis of a Cocoa Butter Equivalent by Enzymatic Interesterification of Illipe Butter and Palm Midfraction

Abstract

This study aims to synthesize a cocoa butter equivalent (CBE)-structured lipid from a blend of illipe butter (IB) and palm midfraction (PMF) by means of enzymatic interesterification using Rhizomucor miehei sn-1,3 specific lipase, Lipozyme ® RM IM (Novozymes North America, Inc., Franklinton, NC, USA) as the biocatalyst. Physical and chemical attributes of the CBE and cocoa butter (CB) were analyzed. The synthesized CBE matched the triacylglycerol (TAG) profile range of a commercial CB and is therefore hypothesized to show similar physical and chemical characteristics to CB. The TAG profile, fatty-acid constituents, melting and cooling behavior, polymorphism, and crystal morphology were determined using highperformance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and polarized light microscopy, respectively. Four enzymatically interesterified blends of IB:PMF at different weight ratios were analyzed for their TAG profiles, and a ratio of IB:PMF 10:3 (%, w/w) at 5% enzyme load and a reaction time of 30 min gave similar TAG results to CB. The TAG values of the IB:PMF 10:3 interesterified product (IP) were 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoylglycerol at 19.1 AE 1.0%, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-stearoylglycerol at 42.7 AE 1.0%, and 1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoylglycerol at 29.9 AE 0.3%. The melting and the cooling profile of IP and CB showed no significant difference. XRD of IP and CB displayed similar dominant peaks at 4.6 Å, representing a β polymorph. Both CB and IP have similar granular spherulitic crystals. Keywords Cocoa butter equivalent Á Illipe butter Á Palm midfraction Á Enzymatic interesterification Á Structured lipid Á Lipozyme ® RM IM J Am Oil Chem Soc (2018) 95: 547-555.Abbreviations CB cocoa butter CBE cocoa butter equivalent CBI cocoa butter improver IB illipe butter IP interesterified product PB physical blend PMF palm midfraction POP 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoylglycerol POS 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-stearoylglycerol SOS 1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoylglycerol SFC solid-fat content TAG triacylglycerol

Thermorheological Characterization of Healthier Reduced-Fat Cocoa Butter Formulated by Substitution with a Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC)-Based Oleogel

“…Genuine cocoa butter (CB) is mainly used in pastry and confectionery to make both dark and white chocolate products due to its unique triacylglycerol (TAG) composition that provides the exclusive physical and sensory characteristics of this ingredient [24,25]. In turn, CB is the most expensive ingredient among chocolate products and, to minimize costs, cocoa butter equivalents, substitutes or improvers are typically used as CB replacers [24,26,27]. These alternative fat and oil sources are obtained by using chemical or enzymatic methods, to resemble the TAG of CB [28,29].…”

Analysis of the effect of recent reformulation strategies on the crystallization behaviour of cocoa butter and the structural properties of chocolate

“…Illipe butter has also been used with palm mid fraction (to provide POP) to obtain a CBE through enzymatic interesterification ( Bahari and Akoh, 2018a ). When interesterified correctly, this CBE can have a very similar triacylglycerides composition and give similar crystal morphology to CB.…”

Synthesis, physicochemical properties, and health aspects of structured lipids: A review

“…Several fats and oils including palm kernel oil, mango seed kernel fat, kokum butter, sal fat, shea butter, and illipe fat can be blended or modified to obtain cocoa butter equivalents, since they have similar fatty acid and triacylglycerol composition to cocoa butter and tend to yield β polymorph in a controlled process (Jahurul et al., ). For example, Bahari and Akoh () produced CBEs by enzymatically catalyzing a blend of illipe butter and palm midfraction at a ratio of 10:3 (w/w). The obtained interesterified products showed similar TAG profiles to the commercial cocoa butter (CB), with an onset melting temperature of 32.7 °C, predominant β polymorphs, and spherulitic crystals, which are comparable to those of CB.…”

“…Although human milk fat and cocoa butter are among the few exceptions with inherently excellent functionality, neither of them can meet the substantial demand in the food industry for infant nutrition or chocolate products because of certain social and/or environmental factors. For example, infant nutrition from breastfeeding can not be fully satisfied due to mother's inability or option (Faustino et al., ) and likewise, natural cocoa butter may not be sufficient for chocolate products because of restricted climate, limited supply, and fluctuating price (Bahari & Akoh, ). Furthermore, despite the great success of hydrogenated vegetable oils over the past 100 years, there are increasing health concerns and/or regulatory restrictions on the dietary ingestion of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and trans fatty acids (TFAs) that have been found to be closely linked to cardiovascular diseases (Akoh, ; Shahidi, ).…”