ABSTRACT
The study of structured lipids (SL) has come of age. The industry is slowly but certainly appreciating the possible role and use of SL in foods. With growing consumer and industry interest in healthier foods, trans-free fats, SL, and lipase catalysis have become the subject of a great deal of research in academia and industry. Lipids can also be modified through plant and animal breeding and genetic engineering. SL are texturally important in the manufacture of plastic fats such as margarine, modified butters, and shortenings. SL are tailor-made fats and oils or triacylglycerols (TAG) mixtures modified to approximate a particular fatty acids or TAG composition to attain some desired property, such as reduced energy value, or a nutritional, physical, or functional property. A nutraceutical lipid is a lipid isolated, concentrated, or synthesized/modified from natural fats and oils that provides medical or health benefits, including the potential for the prevention of and/or treatment of disease.
