ABSTRACT
I n t ro d u c t i o n Partial glycerides, such as monoacylglycerol (MAG) and diacylglycerol (DAG), have long been used as emulsifiers and stabilizers in the food industry. Pure MAG and DAG are used for the synthesis of more complex lipids that are useful for various pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications (1,2). In recent years, there have been studies that reported the nutritional benefits of the oils containing ≥80% DAG (see Parts II-IV of this book). Mixtures of mono-and diacylglycerols are generally synthesized from triacylglycerol (TAG) oils and glycerol v i a a chemical glycerolysis reaction at temperatures >200°C using alkaline catalysts (3). The distribution of mono-, di-, and triacylglycerols in the reaction mixture depends on the molar ratio of glycerol to triacylglycerol used in the reaction. The DAG component in the resulting reaction mixture has physicochemical characteristics that are intermediate between those of MAG and TAG; this makes it difficult to separate DAG from both MAG and TAG, for the purpose of making an oil product high in DAG, by conventional separation processes.
