Patent ID: 7572610

Claim:
A method of making a compound having the structural formula: wherein at least two of R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 are non-fatty acid carboxylates; and the other of R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 are each either a C 2 -C 24 fatty acid moiety, OH, or a non-fatty acid carboxylate, wherein the first and second non-fatty acid carboxylates are the same or different and wherein at least one R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 comprises a phytochemical, comprising: (a) partially deacylating a triacylglycerol so as to provide a mono- or diacylglycerol wherein the triglycerol is a vegetable oil selected from the group consisting of soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower seed oil, high-oleic sunflower seed oil, canola oil, safflower oil, cuphea oil, coconut oil, olive oil, palm kernel oil and combinations thereof; (b) reacting in a reaction mixture an acyl ester of the phytochemical with said mono- or diacylglycerol in the presence of a esterase catalyst under conditions that permit transesterification of said ester with said mono- or diacylglycerol; (c) recovering said compound from said reaction mixture; and (d) removing volatile compounds from the reaction mixture prior to or following recovering said compound from said reaction mixture.