WO2003042392A1 - Standardised phospholipid mixtures - Google Patents

Standardised phospholipid mixtures Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2003042392A1
WO2003042392A1 PCT/EP2002/012817 EP0212817W WO03042392A1 WO 2003042392 A1 WO2003042392 A1 WO 2003042392A1 EP 0212817 W EP0212817 W EP 0212817W WO 03042392 A1 WO03042392 A1 WO 03042392A1
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Prior art keywords
phosphohpid
modified
composition
unmodified
phospholipid
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2002/012817
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Steve Leigh
Mathew Louis Steven Leigh
Peter Van Hoogevest
Henricus Tiemessen
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Phares Pharmaceutical Research N.V.
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Publication of WO2003042392A1 publication Critical patent/WO2003042392A1/en

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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23J—PROTEIN COMPOSITIONS FOR FOODSTUFFS; WORKING-UP PROTEINS FOR FOODSTUFFS; PHOSPHATIDE COMPOSITIONS FOR FOODSTUFFS
    • A23J7/00—Phosphatide compositions for foodstuffs, e.g. lecithin
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11C—FATTY ACIDS FROM FATS, OILS OR WAXES; CANDLES; FATS, OILS OR FATTY ACIDS BY CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF FATS, OILS, OR FATTY ACIDS OBTAINED THEREFROM
    • C11C3/00—Fats, oils, or fatty acids by chemical modification of fats, oils, or fatty acids obtained therefrom
    • C11C3/12—Fats, oils, or fatty acids by chemical modification of fats, oils, or fatty acids obtained therefrom by hydrogenation
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12P—FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE
    • C12P13/00—Preparation of nitrogen-containing organic compounds
    • C12P13/04—Alpha- or beta- amino acids
    • C12P13/06—Alanine; Leucine; Isoleucine; Serine; Homoserine
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12P—FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE
    • C12P7/00—Preparation of oxygen-containing organic compounds
    • C12P7/64—Fats; Fatty oils; Ester-type waxes; Higher fatty acids, i.e. having at least seven carbon atoms in an unbroken chain bound to a carboxyl group; Oxidised oils or fats
    • C12P7/6436—Fatty acid esters
    • C12P7/6445—Glycerides
    • C12P7/6481—Phosphoglycerides
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12P—FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIRED CHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERS FROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE
    • C12P9/00—Preparation of organic compounds containing a metal or atom other than H, N, C, O, S or halogen

Definitions

  • This invention relates to modified membrane lipid compositions. More specifically, tihe invention relates to standardised membrane lipid compositions including mixtures prepared by enzyme modification, purification and back blending using one of the components which is a diacyl phospholipid.
  • Phospholipids are amphipathic compounds and essential 'building-blocks' for cell- membranes in all living organisms.
  • the phospholipid molecule comprises a phosphoric acid ester head group attached to a glycerol backbone carrying one (monoacyl) or more usually, two (diacyl) fatty acid hydrocarbon tails.
  • the head group may be charged or uncharged and confer a zwitterionic, net positive or negative property to the lipid molecule. Because of their amphipathic character and shape, phospholipid molecules naturally self- arrange into microscopic aggregates having different structure and size in an aqueous environment.
  • Lecithin is a generic term for mixtures of phospholipids.
  • the chief component of lecithin is phosphatidylcholine (l,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, PC).
  • PC phosphati- dylcholine
  • examples of other diacyl membrane lipid components that may be present are phosphatidylethanola ine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), and phosphatidicacid (PA).
  • PE phosphatidylethanola ine
  • PI phosphatidylinositol
  • PS phosphatidylserine
  • PA phosphatidicacid
  • the lecithin contains a minor fraction (normally lower than 5 %) of monoacyl counterparts with only one fatty acid chain at the first or second C-atom of the glycerol backbone.
  • lecithins from natural sources are commercially available in large quantities, the price is reflected in the grade and its purity.
  • crude lecithin for food applications may cost under US $5 a kilo, some of the pure synthetic phospholipids may cost in excess of US $10,000 per kilo.
  • phospholipids are to be employed more widely in drug delivery, it is important that individual types and well defined composi- tions are readily available and the cost of the material made more amenable through improved production methods.
  • Standard procedures to obtain purified natural phospholipids are based on a multi-step fractionation and/ or purification process starting from crude, commercial food grade lecithins. These lecithins are obtained by simple water degumming of crude vegetable oils. As a consequence, they are poorly reproducible and quantifiable in terms of phospholipid content i.e they are non-standardised. Furthermore, the composition is highly dependent on the type of crop, growing season and processing conditions.
  • the present invention is in the area of "well defined, standardised compositions " and "backblending" of enzyme modified mixtures. Accordingly the invention involves a composition comprising a phospholipase modified and the corresponding unmodified phospholipid and optionally other components obtainable by a method comprising: i) Modification of a phospholipid comprising at least 10% PC or 10% MAPC by enzyme treatment with a phospholipase; ii) Purification of the enzyme modified mixture; ⁇ i) Addition of unmodified phospholipid with a minimum of 40% w/w PC or another diacylphosphoHpid to said enzyme modified and purified mixture to reach the desired target amount of the modified phospholipid.
  • the invention in another aspect relates to a method of obtaining a standardised composition comprising a phospholipase modified and the corresponding unmodified phospho- lipid and optionally other components characterised by: i) Modifying a phospholipid comprising at least 10% PC or 10% MAPC by enzyme treatment with a phospholipase; ⁇ ) Purifying the enzyme modified mixture; iii) Adding the unmodified phospholipid with a minimum of 40% w/w PC or another diacylphosphoHpid to said enzyme modified and purified mixture to reach the desired target amount of the modified phosphoHpid.
  • Back blending when performed, is carried out to a mixture having a modified component in excess of the target amount required after enzyme modification, with purified amounts of the unmodified component to yield a standardised composition with consistently reproducible proportions of the two. phospholipids.
  • the standardised composition comprises up to 99.9 wt % of total modified and unmodified phosphoHpids.
  • the mixtures may be partially or fully hydrogenated.
  • the modified component may be PE, PA, PI, PS after head group exchange using phosphoHpase D.
  • the unmodified component is PC.
  • the modified component is the monoacyl derivative of PC (MAPC), PE, PA, PI or PS and the unmodified is the parent diacyl equivalent.
  • MPC monoacyl derivative of PC
  • PE PE
  • PA PA
  • PI polypeptide
  • PS polypeptide
  • the unmodified is the parent diacyl equivalent.
  • a standardised composition from the first modi- fication may be used for back blending in order to prepare a standardised composition.
  • head group exchange may be carried out either before or after deacylation.
  • hydrogenation is carried out after enzyme modification and suitable purification.
  • the wt % of the modified phospholipid may be between 10 wt % to 95 wt % of the composition, preferably between 30 wt % to 90 wt %.
  • the unmodified phosphoHpid in both embodiments may make up between 5 wt % to 90 wt %, preferably 5 wt % to 60 wt % of the standardised composition depending on the amount of the modified component.
  • other minor components may be present up to 10 wt %, preferably less than 5 wt %, most preferably less than 1 wt % of the final composition.
  • the invention comprises an enzyme modified composition comprising a modified and a unmodified phosphoHpid in defined amounts and optionally other minor components, prepared by back blending and titrating a suitably purified mixture of said modified and unmodified phospholipids with a required amount of the unmodified phosphoHpid from a substantiaHy pure composition.
  • Enzyme modification refers to the transformation of an Educt through headgroup hydrolysis or exchange, or deacylation to a Product by means of phosphoHpase Al, A2, and D.
  • Educt refers to lecithin mixtures containing at least 10% phosphatidylcholine (PC) or at least 10% monoacylphosphatidylcholine (MAPC).
  • PC phosphatidylcholine
  • MPC monoacylphosphatidylcholine
  • Standardisation or “standardised” describes the process of preparing a well defined phosphoHpid composition by:
  • “Suitably purified” refers to compositions that comprise a phosphoHpid with at least 40 wt % purity that has been purified by one or more of the foHowing methods, e.g. solvent extraction (including acetone extraction, ultra filtration, supercritical gas processing), precipitation or column chromatography using either aluminium oxide or siHca, etc.
  • solvent extraction including acetone extraction, ultra filtration, supercritical gas processing
  • precipitation or column chromatography using either aluminium oxide or siHca, etc.
  • the initial step to obtain phosphatidylchoHne enriched mixtures from lecithin as the starting material is based on a combination of acetone and ethanol extraction procedures in combination with chromatography on aluminium oxide. This procedure is feasible because triglycerides and other neutral lipids from the lecithin are easily removed by ace- tone whilst PC is readily soluble in ethanol. These two solvents are environmentaUy friendly and may be recycled. In contrast to the other phosphoHpids, choline containing phosphoHpids, i.e. PC, are not absorbed on alumina and are eluted from the column with ethanol. An alternative method reHes on siHca adsorption, which has the advantage of removing most of the non-choline phosphoHpids and a good proportion of the neutral Hpids in a one step purification process, avoiding acetone treatment.
  • Enzyme modification/s (hydrolysis and/ or head group exchange) is then carried out to prepare a mixture comprising two phosphoHpids.
  • the modified component is a monoacyl Hpid
  • the unmodified component is the corresponding diacyl phosphoHpid.
  • the modified component is PA or PG, for instance, the unmodified component is PC.
  • the compositions may be hydrogenated. Since established technologies may be employed to carry out the processes, this can only benefit the cost of production.
  • enzyme modification may be appHed on suitably purified phospholipid fractions. It is preferable to apply the modification step/s to a crude Hpid mixture foUowed by purification for removal of by products and residual enzyme activity. This procedure allows more complete inactivation and removal of the enzyme used during the purification steps.
  • the composition after enzyme treatment is suitably purified to remove unwanted by products and the degree of conversion is determined to make sure that it exceeds the desired target concentration.
  • the mixture Prior to back bending, the mixture is not stan- dardised but should comprise more than 15 wt %, preferably more than 50 wt % of the modified phosphoHpid. Diacyl phosphoHpids and optionaHy minor amounts of other components (up to 10 wt %) make up the rest in the target blend.
  • an additional hydrogenation step may be carried out prior to back blending using a substantiaUy fuHy or partiaHy hydrogenated diacyl component.
  • the final mixture that has been standardised is hydrogenated or par- tiaHy hydrogenated as a final step in the preparation.
  • the benefit of this invention is that a defined and quantified mixture of two phosphoHpids is obtained by back blending a suitably purified mixture using an amount of a substantially pure diacyl phosphoHpid.
  • a substantially pure diacyl phosphoHpid In the appHcations that are envisioned for drug deHv- ery, pharmaceutical, nutritional, dietetic and cosmetic purposes it is just as important to be able to quantify the phosphoHpids and avoid batch to batch variations.
  • the present invention aHows standardised compositions with up to 95% of a modified phosphoHpid to be prepared in the most panoramicUy practical and cost efficient way.
  • the modified phosphoHpid represents the major component in the composition i.e. from 50 wt % to 95 wt %.
  • standardised compositions that contain between 10 wt % to 50 wt % of the modified component are also suitable for preparing lipid aggregates and generally for other appHcations where defined amounts of a particular phosphoHpid/ s is desired.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide quantified and defined mixtures containing a modified and an unmodified phosphoHpid which account for at least 80 wt %, preferably more than wt 90%, most preferably more than 95 wt % of the standardised composition.
  • the modified component may be PG, PE, PA, PI, PS.
  • the unmodified component is PC.
  • the modified component is the monoacyl counterpart of PC, PG, PE, PA, PI or PS and the unmodified is the diacyl equivalent. If required, the head group may be exchanged before deacylation or it may be changed after deacylation.
  • the wt % of the modified phospholipid may be at least 10 wt %, preferably between 10 wt % to 30 wt %, more preferably, between 30 wt % to 50% wt % and most preferably 50 wt % to 95 wt % of the composition.
  • the unmodified phosphoHpid which may be either PC or PE, PA, PI or PS as the case may be, may represent between 5 wt % to 90 wt % of the mixture, preferably it is between 5 wt % to 50 wt %.
  • other minor components may represent up to 10 wt %, preferably less than 5 wt %, most preferably less than 1 wt % of the blend. These minor components may be non polar Hpids, polar Hpids, free fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, trace elements, etc.
  • the method involves spHtting off the fatty acid in the 1 or 2-position of the glycerol backbone using phosphoHpase Al or A2, respectively.
  • the procedure results in hydrolysis of the ester bond between the phosphate group and choline base of PC resulting in phosphatidic acid (PA) which carry a net negative charge in aqueous systems.
  • PA phosphatidic acid
  • the suitably purified mixture comprising PA and PC may be back blended with substantiaUy pure PC to obtain the target blend.
  • Deacylation with phosphoHpase A2 may also be carried out to prepare the monoacyl equivalent after modification of the phosphoric acid ester head group. Alternatively head group modification may take place after deacylation.
  • Blending may be carried out with substantially pure PC to obtain the target blend.
  • deacylation may be carried out to prepare the monoacyl equivalent after head group exchange. This involves two separate enzyme modifications.
  • Standardized mixtures of phosphoHpids can be used as building blocks to form lipid aggregates to associate, or cage biologicaUy active compounds in the molecular state. These may also have other applications in nutrition and cosmetics as functional components in their own right. Therefore, it is beneficial to have a selection of different types of standardised phosphoHpids which are cost effective.
  • a batch using of 100 kg of starting material (educt) is prepared using the following method:
  • the composition may be hydrogenated.
  • the non standardised material comprising 85 wt % of MAPC and 14 wt % of PC has the following specifications: peroxide value (1.5) max. 10 , minor components 5 wt %, moisture 1.2 wt % (max. 2%), ethanol 0.25% (max. 0.5 wt %.)
  • the method described in the example is generally suitable with adaptation to obtain simUar phosphoHpid mixtures after treatment using phosphoHpase Al, OptionaUy hydrogenation as final processing step as appropriate.
  • hydrolysis with phospholipase D in pure aqueous system may be employed under suitable conditions to yield phosphatidic acid.
  • 1kg of standardised PA with 90 wt% purity was prepared as follows from a non standardised mixture.
  • An enzyme modified and purified, but non standardised mixture comprising 961.7 gm of 93 wt% of PA was homogeneously blended with an ethanoHc solution comprising 32.3 gm of 90 wt % PC prior to drying.
  • the resulting standardised composition comprises 1 kg of 90 wt % PA after drying.
  • a second conversion step on the modified mixture from Ex 2 may be carried out with phosphoHpase A2 to obtain monoacyl phosphatidic acid.
  • phosphoHpase A2 a second conversion step on the modified mixture from Ex 2 may be carried out with phosphoHpase A2 to obtain monoacyl phosphatidic acid.
  • a yield of up to 90 wt % of monoacyl PA may be expected after back blending. Hi this case, the standardised PA composition previously prepared is used for standardisation.
  • phosphoHpase D head group exchange in the presence of a hy- droxyl group carrying molecule like - but not limited to - glycerol or serine may be carried out in a biphasic system comprising toluene, diethylether and an aqueous solution under different operating conditions as described in the prior art to obtain phosphatidyl glycerol or phosphatidyl serine or their monoacyl counterparts.
  • This material suitably purified may be back blended with substantially pure PC or the appropriate diacyl phospholipids, as shown in example 2 to yield a standardised composition with defined amounts of the two components.
  • optionally hydrogenation may be carried out on the standardised com- positions before or after back blending, resulting in each case a standardised hydrogenated composition.
  • PaUadium is the catalyst for hydrogenation.

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Abstract

A standardised and optionally hydrogenated phospholipid composition comprising a phospholipase modified and the corresponding unmodified phospholipid and optionally other components obtainable by a method comprising: i) Modification of a phospholipid comprising at least 10% PC or 10% MAPC by enzyme treatment with phospholipase; ii) Purification of the enzyme modified mixture; iii) Addition of unmodified phospholipid with a minimum of 40% w/w PC or another diacylphospholipid to said enzyme modified and purified mixture to reach the desired target amount of the modified phospholipid. An enzyme modified composition comprising up to 85 wt % of mono acyl phosphatidylcho-line and 14 wt % of phosphatidylcholine before back blending is also described. The in-vention also describes a method of preparing said compositions.

Description

STANDARDISED PHOSPHOLIPID MIXTURES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to modified membrane lipid compositions. More specifically, tihe invention relates to standardised membrane lipid compositions including mixtures prepared by enzyme modification, purification and back blending using one of the components which is a diacyl phospholipid.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Phospholipids are amphipathic compounds and essential 'building-blocks' for cell- membranes in all living organisms. The phospholipid molecule comprises a phosphoric acid ester head group attached to a glycerol backbone carrying one (monoacyl) or more usually, two (diacyl) fatty acid hydrocarbon tails. The head group may be charged or uncharged and confer a zwitterionic, net positive or negative property to the lipid molecule. Because of their amphipathic character and shape, phospholipid molecules naturally self- arrange into microscopic aggregates having different structure and size in an aqueous environment.
Lecithin is a generic term for mixtures of phospholipids. The chief component of lecithin is phosphatidylcholine (l,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, PC). Besides phosphati- dylcholine, examples of other diacyl membrane lipid components that may be present are phosphatidylethanola ine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), and phosphatidicacid (PA). It is also possible that in addition to the diacyl phospholipids the lecithin contains a minor fraction (normally lower than 5 %) of monoacyl counterparts with only one fatty acid chain at the first or second C-atom of the glycerol backbone. Although lecithins from natural sources are commercially available in large quantities, the price is reflected in the grade and its purity. As an example, whilst crude lecithin for food applications may cost under US $5 a kilo, some of the pure synthetic phospholipids may cost in excess of US $10,000 per kilo. Clearly, if phospholipids are to be employed more widely in drug delivery, it is important that individual types and well defined composi- tions are readily available and the cost of the material made more amenable through improved production methods.
Standard procedures to obtain purified natural phospholipids are based on a multi-step fractionation and/ or purification process starting from crude, commercial food grade lecithins. These lecithins are obtained by simple water degumming of crude vegetable oils. As a consequence, they are poorly reproducible and quantifiable in terms of phospholipid content i.e they are non-standardised. Furthermore, the composition is highly dependent on the type of crop, growing season and processing conditions.
Numerous methods are described in the prior art for preparing enzyme modified phospholipids. A method for preparing PA is given in Methods in Enzymology, vol 72. p632- 640 (Academic Press Inc. 1981). EP 077697 describes a method of preparing PS from PC mixtures comprising different amounts of PC. A method for preparing hydrol sed dea- cylated mono acyl phospholipids is shown in WO 98/58629.
In formulation development, defined mixtures of phospholipids are preferred to carry biologically active compounds and as functional components. Pioneering work based on particular examples using a mixture of micelle forming and bilayer forming phospholip- ids to form different aggregates to improve bioavailability of problem compounds is described in WO 98/58629, WO 00/61113 and WO 00/61113. However they do not disclose a method of back blending to prepare standardised and enzyme modified compositions. There is thus a requirement for standardised mixtures of specific phospholipids which are not normally present in sufficient amounts in natural lecithin to be available in commer- cial quantities at competitive pricing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the area of "well defined, standardised compositions " and "backblending" of enzyme modified mixtures. Accordingly the invention involves a composition comprising a phospholipase modified and the corresponding unmodified phospholipid and optionally other components obtainable by a method comprising: i) Modification of a phospholipid comprising at least 10% PC or 10% MAPC by enzyme treatment with a phospholipase; ii) Purification of the enzyme modified mixture; ϋi) Addition of unmodified phospholipid with a minimum of 40% w/w PC or another diacylphosphoHpid to said enzyme modified and purified mixture to reach the desired target amount of the modified phospholipid.
In another aspect the invention relates to a method of obtaining a standardised composition comprising a phospholipase modified and the corresponding unmodified phospho- lipid and optionally other components characterised by: i) Modifying a phospholipid comprising at least 10% PC or 10% MAPC by enzyme treatment with a phospholipase; ϋ) Purifying the enzyme modified mixture; iii) Adding the unmodified phospholipid with a minimum of 40% w/w PC or another diacylphosphoHpid to said enzyme modified and purified mixture to reach the desired target amount of the modified phosphoHpid.
Back blending, when performed, is carried out to a mixture having a modified component in excess of the target amount required after enzyme modification, with purified amounts of the unmodified component to yield a standardised composition with consistently reproducible proportions of the two. phospholipids. The standardised composition comprises up to 99.9 wt % of total modified and unmodified phosphoHpids. Optionally, the mixtures may be partially or fully hydrogenated.
In one embodiment, the modified component may be PE, PA, PI, PS after head group exchange using phosphoHpase D. The unmodified component is PC. In a second embodiment which may be deacylated by hydrolysis with phospholipase A2, the modified component is the monoacyl derivative of PC (MAPC), PE, PA, PI or PS and the unmodified is the parent diacyl equivalent. In this event a standardised composition from the first modi- fication may be used for back blending in order to prepare a standardised composition. It should be understood that head group exchange may be carried out either before or after deacylation. Optionally, hydrogenation is carried out after enzyme modification and suitable purification. The wt % of the modified phospholipid may be between 10 wt % to 95 wt % of the composition, preferably between 30 wt % to 90 wt %. The unmodified phosphoHpid in both embodiments may make up between 5 wt % to 90 wt %, preferably 5 wt % to 60 wt % of the standardised composition depending on the amount of the modified component. Optionally, other minor components may be present up to 10 wt %, preferably less than 5 wt %, most preferably less than 1 wt % of the final composition.
Firstly, by employing enzyme modification and purification, depending on the conversion rate mixtures with variable amounts and non standardised mixtures of two phosphoHpids within a range may be prepared. Secondly, by adding a measured amount of a substan- tiaUy pure composition comprising a phosphoHpid with a higher concentration than that present in the mixture, a desired target concentration of the modified phospholipids in a standardised composition may be obtained.
The invention comprises an enzyme modified composition comprising a modified and a unmodified phosphoHpid in defined amounts and optionally other minor components, prepared by back blending and titrating a suitably purified mixture of said modified and unmodified phospholipids with a required amount of the unmodified phosphoHpid from a substantiaHy pure composition.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Definitions
"Enzyme modification" refers to the transformation of an Educt through headgroup hydrolysis or exchange, or deacylation to a Product by means of phosphoHpase Al, A2, and D.
"Educt" refers to lecithin mixtures containing at least 10% phosphatidylcholine (PC) or at least 10% monoacylphosphatidylcholine (MAPC). "Standardisation" or "standardised" describes the process of preparing a well defined phosphoHpid composition by:
1) Enzyme treatment of a phosphoHpid educt with at least 10% PC or MAPC to obtain an enriched mixture comprising unmodified and a modified phosphoHpid, wherein the modified phosphoHpid is in excess of the desired target concentration,
2) Suitable purification of the enzyme modified mixture,
3) "Back blending" by the addition of unmodified phosphoHpid with a mi_n_imum of 40% w/w PC or another diacylphosphoHpid to reach the desired target amount of the modified phosphoHpid.
"Suitably purified" refers to compositions that comprise a phosphoHpid with at least 40 wt % purity that has been purified by one or more of the foHowing methods, e.g. solvent extraction (including acetone extraction, ultra filtration, supercritical gas processing), precipitation or column chromatography using either aluminium oxide or siHca, etc.
The initial step to obtain phosphatidylchoHne enriched mixtures from lecithin as the starting material is based on a combination of acetone and ethanol extraction procedures in combination with chromatography on aluminium oxide. This procedure is feasible because triglycerides and other neutral lipids from the lecithin are easily removed by ace- tone whilst PC is readily soluble in ethanol. These two solvents are environmentaUy friendly and may be recycled. In contrast to the other phosphoHpids, choline containing phosphoHpids, i.e. PC, are not absorbed on alumina and are eluted from the column with ethanol. An alternative method reHes on siHca adsorption, which has the advantage of removing most of the non-choline phosphoHpids and a good proportion of the neutral Hpids in a one step purification process, avoiding acetone treatment.
To obtain a specific phosphoHpid several strategies can be appHed. The simplest but most expensive method is to individuaHy purify the required phosphoHpid from natural sources. The high cost is in the final purification of a low yield material involving chro- matography to yield a material with above 95 % purity. It requires sophisticated purification and chromatography employing solvents that pose serious environmental and toxicology issues. Analytical grade of pure Hpids such as PA and PG are therefore very expensive to purify, because of the smaH amounts present naturaHy. A more cost effective method is to start with a phosphoHpid such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) which is readily available in large amounts. Enzyme modification/s (hydrolysis and/ or head group exchange) is then carried out to prepare a mixture comprising two phosphoHpids. For example, if the modified component is a monoacyl Hpid, the unmodified component is the corresponding diacyl phosphoHpid. If the modified component is PA or PG, for instance, the unmodified component is PC. OptionaUy, the compositions may be hydrogenated. Since established technologies may be employed to carry out the processes, this can only benefit the cost of production.
Enzyme modification
Depending on the type of enzyme reaction and the purification process which is subject to cost considerations, enzyme modification may be appHed on suitably purified phospholipid fractions. It is preferable to apply the modification step/s to a crude Hpid mixture foUowed by purification for removal of by products and residual enzyme activity. This procedure allows more complete inactivation and removal of the enzyme used during the purification steps.
One serious drawback in all enzyme based reactions is that like all other enzyme reactions the phosphoHpid conversions are equilibrium, processes. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to steer the processing conditions in such a way that exactly reproducible conversion rates can be obtained every time. For pharmaceutical appHcations consistent specifications, stringent control over processing conditions and heavy investments in equipment are required to obtain standardised compositions. A much more practical and cost effec- tive strategy to obtain highly reproducible specifications foHowing enzyme treatment is to employ an additional step by back-blending.
Using this method, it is preferable to ensure that an optimal conversion rate is achieved which yields a concentration of a desired phosphoHpid that is in excess of specification. In practice, this corresponds to the maximum rate of conversion for a particular set of operating conditions. The composition after enzyme treatment is suitably purified to remove unwanted by products and the degree of conversion is determined to make sure that it exceeds the desired target concentration. Prior to back bending, the mixture is not stan- dardised but should comprise more than 15 wt %, preferably more than 50 wt % of the modified phosphoHpid. Diacyl phosphoHpids and optionaHy minor amounts of other components (up to 10 wt %) make up the rest in the target blend.
This way, it is possible to prepare a reproducible and standardised ratio of modified to unmodified phosphoHpid in the final composition. OptionaHy, after enzyme modification/ s and suitable purification, an additional hydrogenation step may be carried out prior to back blending using a substantiaUy fuHy or partiaHy hydrogenated diacyl component. Preferably, the final mixture that has been standardised is hydrogenated or par- tiaHy hydrogenated as a final step in the preparation.
The benefit of this invention is that a defined and quantified mixture of two phosphoHpids is obtained by back blending a suitably purified mixture using an amount of a substantially pure diacyl phosphoHpid. In the appHcations that are envisioned for drug deHv- ery, pharmaceutical, nutritional, dietetic and cosmetic purposes it is just as important to be able to quantify the phosphoHpids and avoid batch to batch variations. The present invention aHows standardised compositions with up to 95% of a modified phosphoHpid to be prepared in the most industriaUy practical and cost efficient way.
Preferably the modified phosphoHpid represents the major component in the composition i.e. from 50 wt % to 95 wt %. However, standardised compositions that contain between 10 wt % to 50 wt % of the modified component are also suitable for preparing lipid aggregates and generally for other appHcations where defined amounts of a particular phosphoHpid/ s is desired.
An object of the present invention is to provide quantified and defined mixtures containing a modified and an unmodified phosphoHpid which account for at least 80 wt %, preferably more than wt 90%, most preferably more than 95 wt % of the standardised composition.
In one embodiment the modified component may be PG, PE, PA, PI, PS. The unmodified component is PC. In another embodiment, the modified component is the monoacyl counterpart of PC, PG, PE, PA, PI or PS and the unmodified is the diacyl equivalent. If required, the head group may be exchanged before deacylation or it may be changed after deacylation.
The wt % of the modified phospholipid may be at least 10 wt %, preferably between 10 wt % to 30 wt %, more preferably, between 30 wt % to 50% wt % and most preferably 50 wt % to 95 wt % of the composition. The unmodified phosphoHpid which may be either PC or PE, PA, PI or PS as the case may be, may represent between 5 wt % to 90 wt % of the mixture, preferably it is between 5 wt % to 50 wt %. Optionally, other minor components may represent up to 10 wt %, preferably less than 5 wt %, most preferably less than 1 wt % of the blend. These minor components may be non polar Hpids, polar Hpids, free fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, trace elements, etc.
Three procedures can be appHed to obtain specific combinations of two defined phosphoHpid components by means of enzyme modification.
Hydrolysis with phosphoHpase Al or A2
The method involves spHtting off the fatty acid in the 1 or 2-position of the glycerol backbone using phosphoHpase Al or A2, respectively. This leads to deacylated (monoacyl) phosphoHpids which provide a selection of building blocks to form different Hpid aggregates in combination with diacyl phospholipids for trapping HpophiHc compounds. They may be back blended where appropriate with the respective diacyl phosphoHpid to prepare defined mixtures.
Hydrolysis with phosphoHpase D
The procedure results in hydrolysis of the ester bond between the phosphate group and choline base of PC resulting in phosphatidic acid (PA) which carry a net negative charge in aqueous systems. The suitably purified mixture comprising PA and PC may be back blended with substantiaUy pure PC to obtain the target blend. Deacylation with phosphoHpase A2 may also be carried out to prepare the monoacyl equivalent after modification of the phosphoric acid ester head group. Alternatively head group modification may take place after deacylation. 3/042392
Head group exchange with phosphoHpase D
This is a widely appHed method to convert phosphatidylcholine, the cheapest avaUable purified phospholipid, into a broad range of phosphoHpid types with different head groups, such as phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylserine (PS) and others. Blending may be carried out with substantially pure PC to obtain the target blend. Subsequently deacylation may be carried out to prepare the monoacyl equivalent after head group exchange. This involves two separate enzyme modifications.
It wiU be reacUly appreciated by those skilled in the art that different standardised compositions can provide a wide selection of different types of phosphoHpids which may comprise up to 95 wt % of a particular phosphoHpid. Standardized mixtures of phosphoHpids can be used as building blocks to form lipid aggregates to associate, or cage biologicaUy active compounds in the molecular state. These may also have other applications in nutrition and cosmetics as functional components in their own right. Therefore, it is beneficial to have a selection of different types of standardised phosphoHpids which are cost effective.
The foUowing examples describe the invention further:
Example 1
A batch using of 100 kg of starting material (educt) is prepared using the following method:
- Extraction of crude soybean lecithin with ethanol yields PC enriched (35 %) soya lecithin, (yield 18kg)
- PhosphoHpase A2 hydrolysis yields hydrolysed PC enriched soya lecithin; conversion rate is around 85% (PC conversion).
- Extraction with acetone yields deoiled hydrolysed soya lecithin enriched both in PC and hydrolysed PC (MAPC) (PC.-MAPC; 15:85 ), (yield 9 kg) - Chromatography on aluminium oxide yields a MAPC/ PC blend in ethanol. Alternatively silica may be used, (yield 4kg based on dry matter)
- Analysis of MAPC/ PC ratio, reaching a MAPC content of 85 wt %, Higher MAPC yield is obtained by removal of the reaction products e.g. free fatty acids can be progressively removed by e.g. precipitation etc, to drive the equilibrium conversion rate in excess of the desired level before back blending. In this event, an MAPC yield in excess of 85 wt % is achieved before back blending. OptionaUy, the composition may be hydrogenated.
The non standardised material comprising 85 wt % of MAPC and 14 wt % of PC has the following specifications: peroxide value (1.5) max. 10 , minor components 5 wt %, moisture 1.2 wt % (max. 2%), ethanol 0.25% (max. 0.5 wt %.)
- Backblending by adding the required quantity of purified PC to achieve a standardised target MAPC/ PC ratio after drying.
The method described in the example is generally suitable with adaptation to obtain simUar phosphoHpid mixtures after treatment using phosphoHpase Al, OptionaUy hydrogenation as final processing step as appropriate.
Example 2
In place of phospholipase A2, hydrolysis with phospholipase D in pure aqueous system may be employed under suitable conditions to yield phosphatidic acid. Using the method described in 'Methods in Enzymology', vol. 72, 1kg of standardised PA with 90 wt% purity was prepared as follows from a non standardised mixture. An enzyme modified and purified, but non standardised mixture comprising 961.7 gm of 93 wt% of PA was homogeneously blended with an ethanoHc solution comprising 32.3 gm of 90 wt % PC prior to drying. The resulting standardised composition comprises 1 kg of 90 wt % PA after drying.
Example 3
AdditionaUy, a second conversion step on the modified mixture from Ex 2 may be carried out with phosphoHpase A2 to obtain monoacyl phosphatidic acid. Depending on the con- trol of the reaction processes and removal of the reaction products, a yield of up to 90 wt % of monoacyl PA may be expected after back blending. Hi this case, the standardised PA composition previously prepared is used for standardisation.
Example 4
Different to example 2, phosphoHpase D head group exchange in the presence of a hy- droxyl group carrying molecule like - but not limited to - glycerol or serine may be carried out in a biphasic system comprising toluene, diethylether and an aqueous solution under different operating conditions as described in the prior art to obtain phosphatidyl glycerol or phosphatidyl serine or their monoacyl counterparts. By means of suitable control of the equiHbrium process, it is possible to shift the reaction to the right and obtain conversion rates and yields of more than 80 wt % of the desired phospholipid before back blending. This material, suitably purified may be back blended with substantially pure PC or the appropriate diacyl phospholipids, as shown in example 2 to yield a standardised composition with defined amounts of the two components.
In aU 4 examples, optionally hydrogenation may be carried out on the standardised com- positions before or after back blending, resulting in each case a standardised hydrogenated composition. PaUadium is the catalyst for hydrogenation.

Claims

Claims
1. A composition comprising a modified phosphoHpid and an unmodified phospho¬
Hpid in defined relative amounts and optionaHy other minor components, obtain- able by back blending and titrating a suitably purified mixture of modified and unmodified phospholipids with a required amount of tihe unmodified phospholipid from a substantially pure composition to reach the desired target amount of the modified phospholipid.
2. The composition of claim 1 comprising a phosphoHpase modified phosphoHpid and the corresponding unmodified phosphoHpid and OptionaUy other components obtainable by a method comprising: i) modification of a phosphoHpid comprising at least 10% PC and/ or 10% MAPC by enzyme treatment with phospholipase; ii) purification of the enzyme modified mixture; iii) addition of unmodified phospholipid with a minimum of 40% w/w PC or another diacyl phosphoHpid to said enzyme modified and purified mixture to reach the desired target amount of the modified phosphoHpid.
3. The composition of claim 2 wherein the modified phosphoHpid is selected from the group consisting of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, phosphatidyl inositol, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidic acid, and the unmodified phosphoHpid is phosphatidylcholine.
4. The composition of claim 2, wherein the modified phosphoHpid is selected from the group consisting of monoacyl phosphatidyl choline, monoacylglycerol, monoacyl phosphatidyl ethaholamine, monoacyl phosphatidyl inositol, monoacyl phosphatidyl serine, and monoacyl phosphatidic acid, and the unmodified phospholipid is the corresponding diacyl equivalent.
The composition of any one of claims 2 - 4, wherein the enzyme modified and purified mixture before back blending comprises at least 15 wt % of a modified phosphoHpid.
6. The composition of claims 2 or 3 wherein the standardised composition after back blending comprises between 10 wt % and 95 wt % of a modified diacyl phospholipid.
7. The composition of claim 2 or 4, wherein the standardised composition after back blending comprises between 10 wt % and 95 wt % of a modified monoacyl phosphoHpid.
8. The composition of claim 7, wherein the monoacyl phospholipid is obtained by enzyme modification of a diacyl phosphoHpid, and enzyme modification is carried out with one of phosphoHpase A2, and phosphoHpase Al.
9. The composition of claim 7, wherein the monoacyl phosphoHpid is obtained by enzyme hydrolysis of a diacyl phosphoHpid, and a head group exchange is carried out with phospholipase D.
10. The composition of claim 7, wherein the monoacyl phosphoHpid is obtained by head group exchange of a diacyl phosphoHpid followed by deacylation.
11. The composition of any one of the preceeding claims, said composition comprising hydrogenated phospholipids wherein hydrogenation is carried out either before or after back blending.
12. A method for obtaining a standardised composition comprising a modified phosphoHpid and an unmodified phosphoHpid in defined relative amounts and optionally other minor components, wherein a mixture of said modified and unmodified phospholipids is prepared, purified and back blended and titrated with an amount of the unmodified phosphoHpid from a substantially pure composition to reach the desHed target amount of the modified phospholipid.
13. The method of claim comprising a phospholipase modified and the corresponding unmodified phosphoHpid and optionaUy other components characterised by: i) Modifying a phosphoHpid comprising at least 10% PC and/ or 10% MAPC by enzymatic treatment with phosphoHpase; U) Purifying the enzyme modified mixture; iii) Adding the unmodified phosphoHpid with a minimum, of 40% w/w PC or another diacyl phosphoHpid to said enzyme modified and purified mixture to reach the desired target amount of the modified phospholipid.
14. The method of claim 13, which comprises hydrogenated phosphoHpids wherein hydrogenation is carried out either before or after back blending.
15. A mixture of modified and unmodified phosphoHpids substantiaUy as described in example 1 comprising up to 85 wt % of monoacylphosphatidylcholine prior to back blending.
PCT/EP2002/012817 2001-11-15 2002-11-15 Standardised phospholipid mixtures WO2003042392A1 (en)

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