Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Concentrates of Carp Oil: Chemical Hydrolysis and Urea Complexation

The aims of this study were to compare three treatments in the chemical hydrolysis reaction of bleached oil from carp (Cyprinus carpio) heads and to obtain polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrates by urea complexation. The three treatments were carried out with different oil:ethanol molar ratios. In the treatment with a 1:39 molar ratio, a higher yield of free fatty acids was found. These fatty acids were submitted to urea complexation (−10 °C for 20 h, and urea–fatty acid ratio of 4.5–1). There was a 31.4% increase in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFA and PUFA) content and a 75% decrease in saturated fatty acids (SAF) content. An increase of 85.4% in the EPA + DHA content was found. The non-urea complexing fraction can be considered a rich source of MUFA and PUFA with a total amount of 88.9%.