RESUMO
The enzymatic hydrolysis of frying used vegetable oils with different degrees of alteration were measured using porcine pancreatic lipase (acylglycerol acylhydrolase EC 3.1.1.3). Successive frying of potatoes significantly increased the level of total polar lipid content in the palm olein from 9.3 +/- 0.1 mg/100 mg oil to 26.4 +/- 0.3 mg/100 mg oil after 90 fryings, and from 4.0 +/- 0.1 mg/100 mg oil to 27.7 +/- 0.3 mg/100 mg oil in sunflower oil after 60 fryings. Triacylglycerol polymers, triacylglycerol dimers, and oxidized triacylglycerols also increased 37-, 7.9-, and 7.5-times in palm olein, respectively, and 56-, 22-, and 4.7-times in sunflower oil, respectively. However, diacylglycerols and free fatty acid levels related to hydrolytic alteration did not increase with the number of fryings in both oils. The substrate concentration in the reactor was determined by calculating the molecular weight of each oil showing a different degree of alteration. We compared the methodology used by us and that used by other authors. The results show that the methods are reproducible and that the values obtained are in concordance with theoretical values. The kinetic parameters apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (KMapp) and apparent maximum velocity of hydrolysis (Vmaxapp) were different in unused palm olein (5.1 +/- 0.7 and 166 +/- 7.6, respectively) than in sunflower oil (2.2 +/- 0.3 and 62 +/- 2.2, respectively). However, changes in KMapp and Vmaxapp were not related to the degree of alteration of the oils.