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Soybean lecithin fractionation and functionality

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Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

Soybean lecithin contains primarity PC, PE, and PI. Fractionation of these phospholipids (PL) is desirable for certain applications. Ethanol was used to fractionate PC and PI, which have different solubilities in this solvent. Various concentrations of ethanol (90, 95, and 100%) and ethanol/gum ratios (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5) were used. Ethanol concentration significantly influenced the yield of the PC-enriched fraction and the PC and PI fractionation: The highest ethanol concentration resulted in the highest yield of PC fraction, the most PC in the PC fraction, and the most PI in the PI fraction. The ethanol/gum ratio significantly affected the yield of PC-enriched fraction, but did not affect the relative PL composition of the PC-enriched fraction. Ethanol of 90% concentration with a solvent/gum ratio of 3 was used for further large-scale fractionation. Such fractionation resulted in a PC-enriched fraction containing 73% PC, 24% PE, and 3% PI based on the total PL content, whereas the PI fraction contained 26% PC, 35% PE, and 39% PI. Functional properties of these two purified fractions, i.e., surface tension reduction, emulsion stability, and oxidative stability, were investigated. The PI-enriched fraction had a much lower critical micelle concentration than the PC-enriched fraction, which suggests the PI-enriched fraction has a higher surface tension reduction capability. For the emulsion stability test, the PI-enriched fraction performed better than the PC fraction in both water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions. An oxidative stability test showed that these PL were very stable to lipid oxidation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, 2312 Food Science Bldg., 50011-1061, Ames, IA

    Yingzi Wu & Tong Wang

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  1. Yingzi Wu
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  2. Tong Wang
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Correspondence to Tong Wang.

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Wu, Y., Wang, T. Soybean lecithin fractionation and functionality. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 80, 319–326 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-003-0697-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-003-0697-x

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