Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Micro-organism – tissue cell culture or enzyme using process... – Preparing oxygen-containing organic compound
Patent
1996-09-06
1999-08-31
Lankford, Jr., Leon B.
Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology
Micro-organism, tissue cell culture or enzyme using process...
Preparing oxygen-containing organic compound
435135, 435174, 435176, 435198, 435271, 435262, 514560, 554185, 554186, C12P 762, C12P 764, C12N 920, C11C 100
Patent
active
059453184
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a novel process for treating an oil composition containing saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the form of glycerides, in order to obtain a refined product with higher concentrations of the polyunsaturated fatty acids. The invention in particularly preferred embodiments provides a process for increasing the concentrations of EPA and DHA in a fish oil composition.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In this specification polyunsaturated fatty acids are identified according to the system wherein the omega- or n-number denominates the position of the first double bond when counting from the terminal methyl group, e.g. in an omega-3 or n-3 fatty acid, the first double bond occurs at the third carbon carbon-bond from the terminal methyl group of the acid. Further, when a fatty acid is identified, for instance, as C18:3, this refers to a fatty acid having 18 carbon atoms in the chain and three double bonds.
Commercially important polyunsaturated fatty acids are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, C20:5) DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, C22:6) and AA (arachidonic acid, C20:4). The full nomenclature of these acids according to the IUPAC system is:
cis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid
cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid
cis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid pharmaceutical and food supplement industries in particular. These acids are found in relatively high concentrations in certain marine oils, but for many purposes it is necessary that the marine oils should be refined in order to increase the content of EPA and/or DHA to suitable levels, or to reduce the concentrations of, or even eliminate, certain other substances which occur naturally in the raw oil. For pharmaceutical and food purposes, for instance, it is necessary to substantially completely eliminate all the pesticide residues which commonly occur in marine oils, even those derived from fish caught in sea areas quite remote from intensively cultivated land areas.
EPA and DHA must exhibit an all-cis (Z--Z) configuration corresponding to their naturally occurring state if they are to exhibit biological activity without toxicity. However, these acids are extremely fragile when they are heated and they very readily undergo fast oligomerization, isomerization and peroxidation reactions. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult to purify marine oil compositions containing EPA and DHA without risking loss of these desired acids in their useful form.
EPA and DHA occur in marine oils predominantly as their triglycerides. Up until now, most practical refining processes start either by esterifying the oil with a low molecular weight alcohol (normally ethanol) or by hydrolysing the oil to form free acids or their salts, whereafter fractionation of the oil to recover the desired product is initiated.
However, because of the complexity of marine raw materials, polyunsaturated fatty acid derivatives in highly purified form are not easily prepared by any single fractionation technique. Usually a combination of techniques is therefore used, the particular combination chosen depending on the composition of the raw material and the concentration and other quality criteria that are desired for the product. Urea complexation is one fractionation technique which is commonly employed in processes for recovering high content EPA and/or DRA compositions.
Urea has the useful property of forming solid complexes with straight-chain organic compounds. When a marine oil composition containing fatty acids or esters is added to a solution of urea, a crystalline complex is formed with the more saturated fraction of the acids. The crystals can be removed, leaving a raffinate of more unsaturated fatty acids or fatty acid esters.
Urea complexation has been used with both free fatty acids, and with methyl or ethyl esters of the fatty acids. The process can be made continuous by using heat exchangers with a scraped surface as reactors for urea occlusion formation. When fractionating esters, it seems to be the normal procedure first to react the oil with alco
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Breivik Harald
Haraldsson Gudmundur G.
Lankford , Jr. Leon B.
Norsk Hydro a.s.
Tate Christopher R.
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