Development of symmetric monounsaturated triacylglycerols by Rhodosporidium toruloides cell factory for cocoa butter equivalent

Abstract

In the present study, various factors including carbon source, nitrogen source, Mg2+, and pH value were investigated to determine the optimal conditions for producing cocoa butter equivalent using R. toruloides. The maximum of biomass, lipid content, and lipid production were achieved at levels of 7.8 g/L, 61.0%, and 4.4 g/L, respectively. The oil from R. toruloides mainly consisted of 16:0, 18:0, and 18:1 with 18:1 dominating at the sn-2 position, which was further confirmed by 13C NMR analysis. UPLC-MS analysis showed that the sum of sn-POP, sn-POS, and sn-SOS accounted for up to 27.11% in the triacylglycerol species of the oil produced, which allows those triacylglycerols to be further se..