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Two Birds with One Stone: Enzymatic Degumming and Deacidification for Arachidonic Acid-Enriched Algae Oil Using PLA1@MCM-41-C₈

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Kheng-Lim GohORCiD

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Abstract

© 2025 Chinese Academy of EngineeringAlgae oil contains polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are beneficial to human health and development. Enzymatic refining is a sustainable approach that can improve the quality and nutritional value of algae oil. However, this approach involves the use of specific enzymes to remove unwanted impurities such as phospholipids (PLs) and free fatty acids (FFAs). This study proposes a novel immobilized phospholipase, immobilized phospholipase A1 (PLA1@MCM-41-C8), which serves a dual purpose: it is effective for both degumming arachidonic acid (ARA)-enriched algal oil and its subsequent deacidification. The use of PLA1@MCM-41-C8 achieved a degumming rate of 95.9% for crude algal oil, with an ARA retention rate of up to 97.3%. The acidity of the degummed oil decreased from 14.5 to 1.1 mg KOH·g−1, while simultaneously producing 29.2% high-value diacylglycerol (DAG). By comparing enzymatically degummed and deacidified ARA-enriched algae oil (EDDO) with crude ARA-enriched algae oil (CO), commercialized refining algae oil (CRO), it was found that enzymatic refining had minimal impact on antioxidant stability, fatty acid composition, and oil content. In particular, the flavor characteristics of algal oil before and after enzymatic refining with PLA1@MCM-41-C8 remained unchanged and were dominated by the main volatile compounds: alcohols and aldehydes. Compared with free phospholipase A1 (PLA1), PLA1@MCM-41-C8 exhibited significantly improved thermostability, pH tolerance, solvent tolerance, and long-term reusability. These characteristics make it a promising candidate for complex oil refining in industrial applications.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Liu Z, Zhang Y, Liu T, Zhou Q, Zhou Y, Goh K-L, Quek S-Y, Huang F, Zheng M

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Engineering

Year: 2026

Pages: epub ahead of print

Online publication date: 24/12/2025

Acceptance date: 19/11/2025

ISSN (print): 2095-8099

ISSN (electronic): 2096-0026

Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2025.11.030

DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2025.11.030

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