ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the advances on the lipase-catalyzed synthesis of symmetrical triacylglycerols (sTAG) containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with a special emphasis on both monitoring the reaction and reaction strategies proposed to increase the yield. For the production of a targeted sTAG, it is essential to know which types of triacylglycerols are formed and how many fatty acids are incorporated at a specific hydroxyl position of glycerol. Enzymatic reactions have an important advantage for the synthesis of sTAG containing PUFA because PUFA are very unstable. As is the case with most enzymatic reactions, the performance of enzymatic synthesis of sTAG containing PUFA depends on many factors involving the type of reaction, the enzyme and its immobilization, temperature, water content, composition of substrates, physical properties of the substrates, reaction time, and mode of operation. The chapter mentions some of these factors and presents examples of reactions yielding sTAG that contain PUFA.
