Procedimiento para la purificación de ácido eicosapentaenoico (EPA)

Número de publicación: ES2292341 A1 (01.03.2008) También publicado como: ES2292341 B1 (16.03.2009) Número de Solicitud: Consulta de Expedientes OEPM (C.E.O.)P200600777 (13.03.2006)La presente invención se refiere a un procedimiento para la purificación de EPA mediante reacciones enzimáticas de esterificación, caracterizadas por lipasas, a partir de extractos de pescado y microalgas y al uso del factor adimensional de eficacia para la cuantificación de la eficacia de las lipasas para concentrar y recuperar de forma simultánea un ácido graso poliinsaturado en la fracción de ácidos grasos libres.Universidad de Almerí

Production of triacylglycerols rich in palmitic acid at sn-2 position by lipase-catalyzed acidolysis

This paper studies the synthesis of triacylglycerols (TAGs) rich in palmitic acid (PA) at sn-2 position from palm stearin (PS), a vegetable oil highly rich in PA (60%, but only 12.8% of this is located at sn-2 position). These PA rich TAGs were obtained by lipase-catalyzed acidolysis of this oil with free fatty acids (FFAs) highly rich in PA, such as commercial PA (98% PA) and a FFA extract obtained by saponification of PS (60% PA). PA has a melting point of 63 ºC and during the acidolysis reaction the substrates, highly rich in this acid, must remain liquid; therefore high temperatures or solvents must be used. An important objective of this work was to operate without solvent and at the lowest possible temperature. In this acidolysis reaction four factors were firstly studied: type of lipase, temperature, solvent amount and the intensity of treatment (IOT = lipase amount × reaction time/PS amount). The influence of these variables was studied in a stirred tank reactor (STR). The lipases tested were Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica (immobilized on a macroporous acrylic resin), and lipases QLC (immobilized on diatomaceous earth), and QLM (non immobilized), both from Alcaligenes sp., and the one selected was lipase QLC. According to the manufacturer the optimum temperature for this lipase is 65-70 ºC, which allows it to operate without solvent. The best results with lipase QLC (TAGs with 80% PA, both total and at sn-2 position) were obtained with commercial PA, at 65 ºC, a 3:1 FFA/PS molar ratio (1:1 w/w), without solvent and an IOT = 7 g lipase × h/g PS (for example 2.5 g PS, 2.5 g commercial PA, 0.75 g lipase and 24 h). These results were the basis for establishing the operational conditions to obtain PA rich TAGs with the lipase immobilized in a packed bed reactor (PBR), operating by recirculation of the reaction mixture through the lipase bed. In this system TAGs with 75% PA were obtained at an IOT = 8 g lipase × h/g PS. This result and the apparent kinetic constants obtained in both reactors show that the reaction rate is lower in the PBR than in the STR. Subsequently, PA enriched TAGs were separated from FFAs by two procedures: the first one at room temperature and in presence of hexane and the second one at 65 ºC and without hexane. Using the first procedure, 95% of TAGs in the acidolysis reaction mixture were recovered with a purity of 99%. Using the second one, 98% pure TAGs were obtained with a recovery yield of 80%. Therefore, these highly rich PA TAGs can be obtained by acidolysis of PS and PA rich FFAs in solvent-free media, and then these TAGs also can be purified to 98% in absence of hexane, using only a hydroethanolic KOH solution.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, FEDER, Proyects AGL2003-03335, CTQ2007-6407

Production of triacylglycerols rich in palmitic acid at position 2 as intermediates for the synthesis of human milk fat substitutes by enzymatic acidolysis

This paper studies the synthesis of triacylglycerols (TAGs) rich in palmitic acid (PA) at position 2, from palm oil stearin (POS), a vegetable oil highly rich in this acid (60%). The developed process consists of two steps: (1) obtaining PA enriched free fatty acids (FFAs), and (2) enrichment of POS in PA by acidolysis of this oil with PA enriched FFAs, catalyzed by lipase Novozym 435. In step (1) two PA enriched FFA mixtures were obtained: one by saponification of POS, and a PA concentrate (75.1% PA) obtained by crystallization at low temperature in solvents. The latter was obtained carrying out two crystallizations in acetone at -24 and -20 ºC, from which PA was recovered in the solid phases with a total yield of 84%. These PA enriched FFA mixtures were used in step (2) of acidolysis of POS, along with commercial PA (98% PA). In this acidolysis step four factors were studied: temperature, hexane/reaction mixture ratio, FFA/POS molar ratio and the intensity of treatment (IOT = lipase amount × reaction time/POS amount). The best results (TAGs with 79% PA and 75% PA at position 2) were obtained with commercial PA, at 37 ºC, 10 mL hexane/g reaction mixture, a FFA/POS molar ratio 3:1 (1:1 w/w) and an IOT = 9.6 g lipase × h/g POS (for example 48 h, 10 g lipase and 50 g POS). PA enriched TAGs were purified neutralizing the FFAs by KOH hydroethanolic solutions and extracting the TAGs with hexane. In this way 99% pure acylglycerols (TAG+DAG) were obtained; the recovery yield of this purification step was 95%. The experiments carried out with POS demonstrated that it is possible to use only this oil (60% PA, 23% PA at position 2) as a source of PA to obtain a TAG with 70.7% PA and 70.5% PA at position 2. This process consists of four steps: (1) saponification of POS, (2) crystallization of FFAs to obtain PA enriched FFAs (75.1% PA), (3) acidolysis of POS with these FFAs, catalyzed with Novozym 435, to produce PA enriched TAGs at position 2 (70.5% PA) and (4) purification of TAGs to obtain approximately 95% purity and yield. These PA enriched TAGs could be used to obtain structured TAGs rich in PA at position 2 and in oleic acid at positions 1 and 3 (OPO), which is the principal TAG of human milk fat.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spain), FEDER, Projects AGL2003-03335 and CTQ2007-64079

Insuficiencia mitral severa secundaria a rotura del músculo papilar posteromedial

The prevalence of mechanical complications of infarction has decreased in recent years, however, mortality remains high. Echocardiography plays a fundamental role for early diagnosis and management of these complications.  We present the case of a patient with ischemic rupture of the posteromedial papillary muscle and severe mitral regurgitation.La prevalencia de las complicaciones mecánicas del infarto se ha reducido en los últimos años, sin embargo, la mortalidad sigue siendo elevada. La ecocardiografía juega un papel fundamental para un diagnóstico y manejo precoz de estas complicaciones.  Presentamos el caso de una paciente con rotura isquémica del músculo papilar posteromedial e insuficiencia mitral severa

Production of structured triacylglycerols by acidolysis catalyzed by lipases immobilized in a packed bed reactor

The aim of this work was to produce structured triacylglycerols (STAGs), with caprylic acid located at positions 1 and 3 of the glycerol backbone and docosohexaenoic acid (DHA) at position 2, by acidolysis of tuna oil and caprylic acid (CA) catalyzed by lipases Rd, from Rhizopus delemar, and Palatase 20000L from Mucor miehei immobilized on Accurel MP1000 in a packed bed reactor (PBR), working in continuous and recirculation modes. First, different lipase/support ratios were tested for the immobilization of lipases and the best results were obtained with ratios of 0.67 (w/w) for lipase Rd and 6.67 (w/w) for Palatase. Both lipases were stable for at least 4 days in the operational conditions. In the storage conditions (5 ºC) lipases Rd and Palatase maintained constant activity for 5 and 1 month, respectively. These catalysts have been used to obtain STAGs by acidolysis of tuna oil and CA in a PBR operating with recirculation of the reaction mixture through the lipase bed. Thus, STAGs with 52-53% CA and 14-15% DHA were obtained. These results were the basis for establishing the operational conditions to obtain STAGs operating in continuous mode. These new conditions were established maintaining constant intensity of treatment (IOT, lipase amount × reaction time/oil amount). In this way STAGs with 44-50% CA and 17-24% DHA were obtained operating in continuous mode. Although the compositions of STAGs obtained with both lipases were similar, Palatase required an IOT about 4 times higher than lipase Rd. To separate the acidolysis products (free fatty acids, FFAs, and STAGs) an extraction method of FFAs by water-ethanol solutions was tested. The following variables were optimized: water/ethanol ratio (the best results were attained with a water/ethanol ratio of 30:70 w/w), the solvent/FFA-STAG mixture ratio (3:1 w/w) and the number of extraction steps (3 to 5). In these conditions highly pure STAGs (93-96%) were obtained with a yield of 85%. The residual FFAs can be eliminated by neutralization with a hydroethanolic KOH solution to obtain pure STAGs. The positional analysis of these STAGs, carried out by alcoholysis catalyzed by lipase Novozym 435, has shown that CA represents 55% of fatty acids located at positions 1 and 3 and DHA represents 42% of fatty acids at position 2.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spain), FEDER, Projects AGL2003-03335 and CTQ2007-6407

Production of biodiesel from vegetable oil and microalgae by fatty acid extraction and enzymatic esterification

The aim of this work was to obtain biodiesel (methyl esters) from the saponifiable lipids (SLs) fraction of the microalga Nannochloropsis gaditana, whose biomass dry weight contains 12.1 wt% of these lipids. SLs were extracted from the microalga as free fatty acids (FFAs) for subsequent transformation to methyl esters (biodiesel) by enzymatic esterification. Extraction as FFAs rather than as SLs allows them to be obtained with higher purity. Microalgal FFAs were obtained by direct saponification of lipids in the biomass and subsequent extraction-purification with hexane. Esterification of FFAs with methanol was catalysed by lipase Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica. Stability studies of this lipase in the operational conditions showed that the esterification degree (ED) attained with the same batch of lipase remained constant over six reaction cycles (36 h total reaction time). The optimal conditions attained for 4 g of FFAs were 25 ºC, 200 rpm, methanol/FFA molar ratio of 1.5:1, Novozym 435/FFA ratio of 0.025:1 w/w and 4 h reaction time. In these conditions the ED attained was 92.6%, producing a biodiesel with 83 wt% purity from microalgal FFAs. Several experimental scales were tested (from 4 to 40 g FFAs), and in all cases similar EDs were obtained

Resultados de una encuesta sobre el soporte nutricional perioperatorio en la cirugía pancreática y biliar en España

Introduction: a survey on peri-operative nutritional support in pancreatic and biliary surgery among Spanish hospitals in 2007 showed that few surgical groups followed the 2006 ESPEN guidelines. Ten years later we sent a questionnaire to check the current situation. Methods: a questionnaire with 21 items sent to 38 centers, related to fasting time before and after surgery, nutritional screening use and type, time and type of peri-operative nutritional support, and number of procedures. Results: thirty-four institutions responded. The median number of pancreatic resections (head/total) was 29.5 (95% CI: 23.0-35; range, 5-68) (total, 1002); of surgeries for biliary malignancies (non-pancreatic), 9.8 (95% CI: 7.3-12.4; range, 2-30); and of main biliary resections for benign conditions, 10.4 (95% CI: 7.6-13.3; range, 2-33). Before surgery, only 41.2% of the sites used nutritional support (&lt; 50% used any nutritional screening procedure). The mean duration of preoperative fasting for solid foods was 9.3 h (range, 6-24 h); it was 6.6 h for liquids (range, 2-12). Following pancreatic surgery, 29.4% tried to use early oral feeding, but 88.2% of the surveyed teams used some nutritional support; 26.5% of respondents used TPN in 100% of cases. Different percentages of TPN and EN were used in the other centers. In malignant biliary surgery, 22.6% used TPN always, and EN in 19.3% of cases. Conclusions: TPN is the commonest nutrition approach after pancreatic head surgery. Only 29.4% of the units used early oral feeding, and 32.3% used EN; 22.6% used TPN regularly after surgery for malignant biliary tumours. The 2006 ESPEN guideline recommendations are not regularly followed 12 years after their publication in our country.Introducción: realizamos una encuesta sobre soporte nutricional perioperatorio en cirugía pancreática y biliar en hospitales españoles en 2007, que mostró que pocos grupos quirúrgicos seguían las guías de ESPEN 2006. Diez años después enviamos un cuestionario para comprobar la situación actual. Métodos: treinta y ocho centros recibieron un cuestionario con 21 preguntas sobre tiempo de ayunas antes y después de la cirugía, cribado nutricional, duración y tipo de soporte nutricional perioperatorio, y número de procedimientos. Resultados: respondieron 34 grupos. La mediana de pancreatectomías (cabeza/total) fue de 29,5 (IC 95 %: 23,0-35; rango, 5-68) (total, 1002), la de cirugías biliares malignas de 9,8 (IC 95 %: 7,3-12,4; rango, 2-30) y la de resecciones biliares por patología benigna de 10,4 (IC 95 %: 7,6-13,3; rango, 2-33). Solo el 41,2 % de los grupos utilizaban soporte nutricional antes de la cirugía (< 50 % habian efectuado un cribado nutricional). El tiempo medio de ayuno preoperatorio para sólidos fue de 9,3 h (rango, 6-24 h), y de 6,6 h para líquidos (rango, 2-12). Tras la pancreatectomía, el 29,4 % habían intentado administrar una dieta oral precoz, pero el 88,2 % de los grupos usaron algún tipo de soporte nutricional y el 26,5 % usaron NP en el 100 % de los casos. Los demás grupos usaron diferentes porcentajes de NP y NE en sus casos. En la cirugía biliar maligna, el 22,6 % utilizaron NP siempre y NE en el 19,3 % de los casos. Conclusiones: la NP es el soporte nutricional más utilizado tras la cirugía de cabeza pancreática. Solo el 29,4 % de las unidades usan nutrición oral precoz y el 32,3 % emplean la NE tras este tipo de cirugía. El 22,6 % de las instituciones usan NP habitualmente tras la cirugía de tumores biliares malignos. Las guías ESPEN 2006 no se siguen de forma habitual en nuestro país tras más de 10 años desde su publicación

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

Pasados y presente. Estudios para el profesor Ricardo García Cárcel

Ricardo García Cárcel (Requena, 1948) estudió Historia en Valencia bajo el magisterio de Joan Reglà, con quien formó parte del primer profesorado de historia moderna en la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. En esta universidad, desde hace prácticamente cincuenta años, ha desarrollado una extraordinaria labor docente y de investigación marcada por un sagaz instinto histórico, que le ha convertido en pionero de casi todo lo que ha estudiado: las Germanías, la historia de la Cataluña moderna, la Inquisición, las culturas del Siglo de Oro, la Leyenda Negra, Felipe II, Felipe V, Austrias y Borbones, la guerra de la Independencia, la historia cultural, los mitos de la historia de España... Muy pocos tienen su capacidad para reflexionar, ordenar, analizar, conceptualizar y proponer una visión amplia y llena de matices sobre el pasado y las interpretaciones historiográficas. A su laboriosidad inimitable se añade una dedicación sin límites en el asesoramiento de alumnos e investigadores e impulsando revistas, dosieres, seminarios o publicaciones colectivas. Una mínima correspondencia a su generosidad lo constituye este volumen a manera de ineludible agradecimiento