Lecithins

Abstract

Lecithin is a natural material with multifunctional properties. Original material was isolated from egg yolk, and it is found in significant quantities in brain and nervous tissue. Actually, lecithin is a normal constituent in all cell membranes. The main source today is found in soybeans and is commercially available in many colors, viscosities, and functionalities. This article gives a detailed description of the nature and composition of lecithin and its manufacture and uses in food as well as nonfood applications. Lecithin has been an amphoteric surfactant for centuries but was not commercialized until soy processing started in the 1930s. It has many food applications and is also used in pharmaceutical preparations and natural food products. Lecithin has some unique properties in industrial applications, ranging from paints to fuel additives. The most prevalent use today is in chocolate and margarine manufacture and in nutritional beverages and supplements.

An approach to manufacturing well‐being milk chocolate in partial replacement of lecithin by the functional plant‐based combination

“…It can be extracted from several sources including plant‐based, animal‐based, and marine. It is commonly used as an emulsifier in the food and confectionary industry to stabilize and homogenize liquid mixtures (Szuhaj et al., 2020 ). It can be added to chocolate and confectionery products in various forms (liquid and powder).…”

Evaluation of the Use of Lecithin in the Manufacture of Millorin

“…Lecithin is considered one of the most important emulsifiers used in the food industry due to its distinctive properties. Soybean lecithin is mainly used because of its constant availability and excellent properties, especially emulsification behavior, color, and taste [6]. Maximum lecithin usage levels have also been set at 260 mg/kg per day [7].…”

PRODAN Photophysics as a Tool to Determine the Bilayer Properties of Different Unilamellar Vesicles Composed of Phospholipids

“…For example, lipids that are bovine or egg-derived present the possibility of protein contamination and/or pathogenic contamination, such as by viruses, and are less stable when compared to soybean LC . The wide use of LC from soybean in the pharmaceutical industry is due to its low cost and the possibility of forming stable vesicles. , Vesicles can be considered large cooperative units with characteristics different from the individual structural units that constitute them . Vesicles typically consist of a bilayer of phospholipid molecules arranged in a spherical manner due to a mainly hydrophobic interaction among the phospholipid tails.…”

“…6,7 Vesicles can be considered large cooperative units with characteristics different from the individual structural units that constitute them. 8 Vesicles typically consist of a bilayer of phospholipid molecules arranged in a spherical manner due to a mainly hydrophobic interaction among the phospholipid tails. They can be either unilamellar, consisting of a single bilayer, or multilamellar, consisting of concentric bilayer spheres with water between them.…”