Positional characterization of DHA/EPA in triacylglycerol and phospholipid and production of DHA/EPA-rich phospholipid

The esterification positional features of fatty acids in triacylglycerol (TAG) and phospholipid (PL) of four marine fish (cobia, golden threadfin bream, tiger grouper and round scad) were investigated, and structured PL enriched with DHA/EPA was prepared using PL from cobia liver as feedstock PL. Results showed that DHA was primarily concentrated in PL (13.06-35.25%) compared to TAG (7.21-15.33%). The positional distribution of DHA exhibited consistency; namely, DHA predominantly esterified at sn-2 position of TAG (10.48-26.22%) or sn-1 position of PL (11.98-36.96%). However, the distribution of EPA was characterized by randomness. Under optimized experimental parameters (water addition, temperature, FFA:PL, enzyme loading, and time were 1.15%, 54.00 degrees C, 5.5:1, 20.00%, and 24 h, correspondingly), DHA/EPA-rich PL (59.92%) were prepared. Such data contribute to the characterization of the esterification positions of DHA and EPA in marine fish and also support the feasibility of using PL from fish by-products for the preparation of DHA/EPA-rich PL.