Lipid extraction processes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016228461-A1
Application number	US-201615040330-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 10, 2016
Priority date	Feb 11, 2015
Publication date	Aug 11, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present invention provides improved processes for extracting and preparing lipids from biological sources for use in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and functional foods.

First claim

1 . A high-efficiency process for extracting lipids from a marine biomass comprising:
mixing said marine biomass with a protic solvent having a concentration of from 90% to 97% at a temperature of from about 5° C. to about 65° C. to yield a crude lipid solution.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said protic solvent has a concentration of from 95% to 97%.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said protic solvent is selected form group consisting of ethanol and methanol.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said temperature is from about 20° C. to about 40° C.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pH of said protic solvent is from about 6.8 to 7.5.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said marine biomass and said protic solvent are mixed at a ratio of from about 1:1 to 10:1 protic solvent:marine biomass.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said marine biomass is a krill biomass.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein said krill biomass is selected from the group consisting of krill meal, krill coagulum and fresh frozen krill.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein said krill meal is selected from the group consisting of cooked krill meals and krill hydrolysate meals.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein said krill meal has a moisture content of from about 5% to 8% and is from about 12% to 32% w/w lipids.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein about 70 to 90% w/w of the total available lipids in the biomass are extracted.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said crude lipid solution has a dry matter content of from about 4% to 9% w/w.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein said dry matter of said crude lipid solution is characterized in comprising from about 30% to about 50% w/w phospholipids (mass phospholipids as a percent of dry matter content of the solution).

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said crude lipid solution has a conductivity of greater than about 50 μS/cm when measured with 5% dry matter in 95% ethanol.

15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising desalting said crude lipid solution to provide a desalted crude lipid solution.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein said desalting is performed by a process selected from the group consisting of adsorption chromatography of said crude lipid solution, membrane filtration and washing said crude lipids with an aqueous solvent.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein said desalted crude lipid solution comprises phospholipids and neutral lipids, and further comprising the step of fractionating said desalted crude lipid solution by adjusting the dry matter content of said crude lipid solution to from about 10% to 40% and holding said solution at about 0° C. to about 20° C. so that phospholipids in said solution partition into a light phase and neutral lipids in said solution partition into a heavy phase.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising separating said heavy and light phases.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said heavy and light phases are separated by centrifugation.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein said centrifugation step uses a cryocentrifuge.

21 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the concentration of said protic solvent during said fractionating step is from about 65% to about 98% w/w.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the concentration of said protic solvent during said fractionating step is from about 92% to about 98% w/w.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the concentration of said protic solvent during said fractionating step is from about 80% to about 90% w/w.

24 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising the step of removing said solvent from said light phase to provide a concentrated phospholipid composition comprising from about 50% to about 85% w/w phospholipids and wherein the composition has one or more of the following properties:
a triglyceride content of from about 5% to 35% w/w; a free fatty acid content of from about 4% w/w to about 11% w/w; a lysophospholipid content of from about 0.8% w/w to about 7.0% w/w; an inorganic salt content of less than about 0.2% w/w; a nitrogen content of less than about 2 mg N/100 g; a copper content of less than about 2 ppm; an arsenic content of less than about 3 ppm; an ethyl ester content of less than about 1% w/w; a conductivity of less than about 20 μS/cm when measured with 5% dry matter in 95% ethanol; a viscosity of from about 500 to 1800 mPas at 35° C.; and an astaxanthin ester content of less than about 100 ppm.

25 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising the step of removing said solvent from said heavy phase to provide a concentrated neutral lipid composition comprising from about 80% to about 95% w/w neutral lipids and wherein the composition has one or more of the following properties:
a phospholipid content of from about 4% to 15% w/w; a free fatty acid content of from about 1% w/w to about 8% w/w; a lysophospholipid content of from about 0.1% w/w to about 2.0% w/w; an inorganic salt content of less than about 0.2% w/w; a nitrogen content of less than about 2 mg N/100g; a copper content of less than about 2 ppm; an arsenic content of less than about 3 ppm; an ethyl ester content of less than about 1% w/w; a conductivity of less than about 20 μS/cm when measured with 5% dry matter in 95% ethanol; a viscosity of less than about 400 mPas at 25° C.; and an astaxanthin ester content of greater than about 300 ppm.

26 . The method of claim 25 , wherein said concentrated neutral lipid composition comprises from about 300 to 1200 ppm astaxanthin esters.

27 . A method for partitioning lipids in a lipid solution comprising phospholipids and neutral lipids comprising:
forming a lipid solution of said phospholipids and neutral lipids in a protic solvent, wherein said solution has a dry matter content of from about 10% to 40%; holding said solution at about 0° C. to about 20° C. so that phospholipids in said solution partition into a light phase and neutral lipids in said solution partition into a heavy phase; and separating said heavy and light phases.

28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein said protic solvent is selected from the group consisting of ethanol and methanol.

29 . The method of claim 27 , wherein said protic solvent has a concentration of from about 65% to about 98% w/w.

30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the concentration of said protic solvent is from about 92% to about 98% w/w.

31 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the concentration of said protic solvent is from about 80% to about 90% w/w.

32 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said heavy and light phases are separated by centrifugation.

33 . The method of claim 19 , wherein said centrifugation step uses a cryocentrifuge.

34 . The method of claim 27 , wherein said lipids are krill lipids.

35 . A high-efficiency process for extracting lipids from a marine biomass comprising:
mixing said marine biomass with a protic solvent having a concentration of from 90% to 97% at a temperature of from about 5° C. to about 65° C. to yield a crude lipid solution; desalting said crude lipid solution; fractionating said desalted crude lipid solution by adjusting the dry matter content of said crude lipid solution to from about 10%

Assignees

• Aker Biomarine Antarctic As

Inventors

• Saebo Asgeir
• Myhren Finn
• Hoem Nils

Classifications

• A23K10/20

  from material of animal origin (obtained by microbiological or biochemical processes A23K10/10) · CPC title

• A61K31/20

  having a carboxyl group bound to a chain of seven or more carbon atoms, e.g. stearic, palmitic, arachidic acids · CPC title

• A61K31/683

  Diesters of a phosphorus acid with two hydroxy compounds, e.g. phosphatidylinositols · CPC title

• A23K20/126

  Lactones · CPC title

• A23L33/115

  Fatty acids or derivatives thereof; Fats or oils · CPC title