Phospholipids (PLs) are naturally-occurring amphiphilic compounds, which
can be used as emulsifiers, liposome components, and nutritional supplements in food,
cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Enzymatic modifications of natural PLs are of
importance to enhance the quality of PLs as value-added products. This chapter
reviews the advances in the enzymatic modification of PLs, including acyl group
modification and head group modification. Acyl group modification can be performed
using lipase- or phospholipase A-mediated transesterification or ester synthesis to
introduce particular fatty acid residues. Head group modification is carried out by
phospholipase D-catalyzed transphosphatidylation. This reaction enables introduction
of a wide range of natural and unnatural functional molecules into the phospholipids,
making it possible to prepare chemically defined structured PLs for diverse
applications.
Keywords: Emulsifier, Esterification, Phospholipid, Phospholipase,
Transesterification.
