Synthesis of medium-chain length capsinoids from coconut oil catalyzed by Candida rugosa lipases

- Candida rugosa lipases were tested in production of capsinoids.
- Free fatty acids and coconut oil were examined as acyl donors.
- Capsinoid mixture was obtained from coconut oil in one-step procedure.
- Nutritional value of coconut oil was improved by enrichment with capsinoids.

A commercial preparation of Candida rugosa lipases (CRL) was tested for the production of capsinoids by esterification of vanillyl alcohol (VA) with free fatty acids (FA) and coconut oil (CO) as acyl donors. Screening of FA chain length indicated that C8-C12 FA (the most common FA found in CO triglycerides) are the best acyl-donors, yielding 80-85% of their specific capsinoids. Hence, when CO, which is rich in these FA, was used as the substrate, a mixture of capsinoids (vanillyl caprylate, vanillyl decanoate and vanillyl laurate) was obtained. The findings presented here suggest that our experimental method can be applied for the enrichment of CO with capsinoids, thus giving it additional health promoting properties.