Highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acid ethyl esters by urea complexation and molecular distillation

MAGALLANES, L. M.; GROSSO N. R.; PRAMPARO, M. C.; GAYOL, M.F.

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

Lugar: LOndres; Año: 2019 vol. 99 p. 877 - 884

0022-5142

BACKGROUND: Raya liver deodorized oil (RLO) contains high concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The objective of this work was to study the processes of urea complexation (UC) and distillation molecular (MD) to determine the most adequate operation conditions of each process separately and together to obtain highly concentrated EPA, DPA and DHA ethyl esters with values of chemical indicators permitted by the current legislation for edible oils.RESULTS: In the second stage of MD was obtained a concentration of 820.27 gr kg-1 in the distillate (D) and 951.06 gr kg-1 of omega-3 fatty acids ethyl esters (FAEE) in the residue (R). The D showed values of free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide (PV) and p-anisidine (PA) lower than the maximum allowed for edible oils in accordance with current legislation.CONCLUSION: The use of UC and MD together has revealed a significant improvement in the total concentration of omega-3 fatty acids ethyl esters in the final product and good application prospects.