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Indication that excess fat intake can increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and certain types of cancer has raised awareness of fat consumption. Health-conscious individuals have consequently adjusted their dietary habits and consumed less fat. This trend has led the food industry try to develop structural modifications and substitutes of fats that contain less energy yet have the desirable functional properties. Structured lipids are defined as lipids structurally modified from their natural state to achieve a desired nutritional, physical, and chemical outcoem. They have gained attention as edible oil and for pharmaceutical purposes, and can be produced via enzymatic action, (mostly via lipases), and/or chemical reactions. Enzymatic action is preferable to chemical reactions in terms of regiospecificity, stereospecificity, selectivity towards substartes, and production of side products and waste.
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