ENHANCEMENT OF RELEASE OF SHORT-CHAIN FATTY-ACIDS FROM MILK-FAT WITH IMMOBILIZED MICROBIAL LIPASE

Candida cylindracea or Rhizopus arrhizus lipase was entrapped in polymer gels prepared from photo-cross-linkable resin prepolymers. The immobilized enzyme was used in milk fat hydrolysis and effective in enhancing the release of short-chain fatty acids compared with free enzyme. The molar percentage of short-chain fatty acids (butyric acid to capric acid) released in the reaction increased significantly after enzyme immobilization. The gel composed of hydrophobic long-chain prepolymer gave the highest increase, with 5.9-fold and 4.5-fold increases for C. cylindracea and R. arrhizus lipase, respectively. Difference in substrate diffusion rate between milk fat triglycerides may be responsible for this behavior.