Lecithin

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Được chembook sửa chữa / chuyển vào 15:28 ngày 25/10/2005

"dũng sĩ diệt eBook" nói đúng rồi, các bạn vào diễn đàn nhờ giúp đỡ mà chẳng cho bất kỳ 1 thông tin nào thì làm sao người khác giúp các bạn chứ, thậm chí có bạn chỉ hỏi chơi cho biết, chẳng có 1 mục đích rõ ràng nào hoặc hỏi mà không biết mình hỏi gì nữa.
Đây là 1 số thông tin mà pqm7777 tìm được (tiếng Anh, bạn phải "vận động" nhé), hy vọng là giúp được cho bạn :
Trong ngành Paint & Coatings Industry : "Lecithin serves as an emulsifier and wetting, dispersing and stabilising agent in both oil- and latex-based paints. It shortens mixing time, aids brushing and increases the covering power of the paint. In case more than one pigment is used in the paint, the lecithin coating helps maintain a uniform mixture." Lecithin hay còn gọi là phospholipit : "Công thức Hóa học - thành phần - lịch sử phát triển"

Phosphatidylcholine
DESCRIPTION
Phosphatidylcholine is a phospholipid that is a major constituent of cell membranes. Phosphatidylcholine is also known as 1, 2-diacyl-:ussn:ue-glycero-3-phosphocholine, PtdCho and lecithin. It is represented by the following chemical structure:

Phosphatidylcholine
The term lecithin itself has different meanings when used in chemistry and biochemistry than when used commercially. Chemically, lecithin is phosphatidylcholine. Commercially, it refers to a natural mixture of neutral and polar lipids. Phosphatidylcholine, which is a polar lipid, is present in commercial lecithin in concentrations of 20 to 90%. Most of the commercial lecithin products contain about 20% phosphatidylcholine.
Lecithins containing phosphatidylcholine are produced from vegetable, animal and microbial sources, but mainly from vegetable sources. Soybean, sunflower and rapeseed are the major plant sources of commercial lecithin. Soybean is the most common source. Plant lecithins are considered to be GRAS (generally regarded as safe). Egg yolk lecithin is not a major source of lecithin in nutritional supplements. Eggs themselves naturally contain from 68 to 72% phosphatidylcholine, while soya contains from 20 to 22% phosphatidylcholine.
The fatty acid makeups of phosphatidylcholine from plant and animal sources differ. Saturated fatty acids, such as palmitic and stearic, make up 19 to 24% of soya lecithin; the monounsaturated oleic acid contributes 9 to 11%; linoleic acid provides 56 to 60%; and alpha-linolenic acid makes up 6 to 9%. In egg yolk lecithin, the saturated fatty acids, palmitic and stearic, make up 41 to 46% of egg lecithin, oleic acid 35 to 38%, linoleic acid 15 to 18% and alpha-linolenic 0 to 1%. Soya lecithin is clearly richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids than egg lecithin. Unsaturated fatty acids are mainly bound to the second or middle carbon of glycerol.
Choline comprises about 15% of the weight of phosphatidylcholine. (See monograph on Choline.)
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
ACTIONS
Phosphatidylcholine may have hepatoprotective activity.
Phosphatidylcholine is important for normal cellular membrane composition and repair. Phosphatidylcholine is also the major delivery form of the essential nutrient choline. Choline itself is a precursor in the synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, the methyl donor betaine and phospholipids, including phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin among others. (See the Choline monograph for further discussion.) Phosphatidylcholine is involved in the hepatic export of very-low-density lipoproteins.
MECHANISM OF ACTION
Phosphatidylcholine''s role in the maintenance of cell-membrane integrity is vital to all of the basic biological processes. These are: information flow that occurs within cells from DNA to RNA to proteins; the formation of cellular energy and intracellular communication or signal transduction. Phosphatidylcholine, particularly phosphatidylcholine rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, has a marked fluidizing effect on cellular membranes. Decreased cell-membrane fluidization and breakdown of cell-membrane integrity, as well as impairment of cell-membrane repair mechanisms, are associated with a number of disorders, including liver disease, neurological diseases, various cancers and cell death.
PHARMACOKINETICS
Phosphatidylcholine is absorbed into the mucosal cells of the small intestine, mainly in the duodenum and upper jejunum, following some digestion by the pancreatic enzyme phospholipase, producing lysophosphatidylcholine (lysolecithin). Reacylation of lysolecithin takes place in the intestinal mucosal cells, reforming phosphatidylcholine, which is then transported by the lymphatics in the form of chylomicrons to the blood. Phosphatidylcholine is transported in the blood in various lipoprotein particles, including very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL); it is then distributed to the various tissues of the body. Some phosphatidylcholine is incorporated into cell membranes.
Phosphatidylcholine is also metabolized to choline, fatty acids and glycerol. The fatty acids and glycerol either get oxidized to produce energy or become involved in lipogenesis. Choline is a precursor of acetylcholine. Serum choline levels peak between 2 to 6 hours after oral intake.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE
Phosphatidylcholine may be indicated to help restore liver function in a number of disorders, including alcoholic fibrosis, and possibly viral hepatitis. It may also be indicated for the treatment of some manic con***ions. There is some evidence that Phosphatidylcholine may be useful in the management of Alzheimer''s disease and some other cognitive disorders. A possible future role in cancer therapy is also suggested by recent research. It may also be indicated in some with tardive dyskinesia.
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Clinical studies have demonstrated that choline is essential for normal liver function. Phosphatidylcholine is a better delivery form and is also more tolerable than choline. But, in ad***ion, research has shown that phosphatidylcholine, independent of its choline content, has striking hepatoprotective effects. In two animal studies using baboons fed diets high in alcohol, some supplemented with a soy-derived polyunsaturated lecithin (60% phosphatidylcholine) and some unsupplemented, both fibrosis and cirrhosis were largely prevented in the phosphatidylcholine group. Most of the unsupplemented animals in these studies, which continued for up to eight years, developed fibrosis or cirrhosis.
Because these researchers had previously found that choline, equal in amounts contained in the phosphatidylcholine-rich lecithin they subsequently used, had no comparable protective effects on the liver, they concluded that the polyunsaturated phospholipids themselves may have been responsible for the benefits observed.
In vitro studies have shown that these phospholipids increase hepatic collagenase activity and may thus help prevent fibrosis and cirrhosis by encouraging collagen breakdown. Several other mechanisms under investigation may also contribute.
Others have reported similarly encouraging results in animal models. Clearly, human trials are warranted.
In ad***ion, phosphatidylcholine has demonstrated other protective effects in non-alcoholic liver disorders, including protection against various other toxic substances. Its benefits in viral hepatitis were reported some years ago by several different research groups in Europe and elsewhere. In one of these studies, individuals suffering from hepatitis type A and B were given 1.8 grams of phosphatidylcholine daily. Compared with unsupplemented controls, the phosphatidylcholine group enjoyed quicker recoveries, fewer relapses and quicker normalization of liver function tests.
Researchers in Great Britain treated chronic active hepatitis C patients with 3 grams daily of phosphatidylcholine in double-blind fashion. The phosphatidylcholine patients had significantly reduced symptoms, compared with controls. All histologic evidence of the disease disappeared in some cases. These researchers, like others, have hypothesized that phosphatidylcholine''s possible antiviral effects are related to the supplement''s apparent ability to increase cellular membrane flui***y and repair the membranes of liver cells.
Phosphatidylcholine may help some with tardive dyskinesia, a neurological disorder characterized by defective cholinergic nerve activity. Both supplemental choline and phosphatidylcholine were found to reduce the muscular hyperactivity of this disorder by about 50% in some studies. However, one significant trial did not see a beneficial effect.
There is some very preliminary evidence that phosphatidylcholine may help control manic symptoms in some.
There has been hope, for some time, that phosphatidylcholine would demonstrate clear-cut benefits in cognitive disorders, such as age-related memory loss and Alzheimer''s disease. There are a few reports that supplemental choline can improve short-term memory skills and enhance the memories of those who are initial poor learners.
Those with Alzheimer''s disease have a diminished ability to synthesize and/or utilize the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, particularly in those areas of the brain related to memory, thus the hope that supplemental choline/phosphatidylcholine might be of benefit. A few studies have suggested some small benefit in memory restoration, but most have not. Research continues.
Recently it has been suggested that phosphatidylcholine might eventually have some therapeutic role in some cancers. There is no evidence of this to date, but animal studies indicate that deficiencies in choline and phosphatidylcholine may disrupt cell membrane signal transduction in ways that could lead to various cancers. There is ample evidence that liver cancer is promoted in various animals by choline-deficient diets, and it has been shown that excess choline can protect against liver cancer in a mouse model.
Phosphatidylcholine has been used to lower serum cholesterol levels, based on the premise that lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity has an important role in the removal of cholesterol from tissues. A few studies have shown reduction in serum cholesterol with phosphatidylcholine intake. The results were quite modest, and most studies have not shown any significant cholesterol-lowering activity.
CONTRAINDICATIONS, PRECAUTIONS, ADVERSE REACTIONS
CONTRAINDICATIONS
There are no reported or known contraindications of phosphatidylcholine supplementation.
PRECAUTIONS
Those with malabsorption problems may develop diarrhea or steatorrhea when using phosphatidylcholine supplements. Those with the antiphospholipid-antibody syndrome should exercise caution in the use of phosphatidylcholine supplements.
ADVERSE REACTIONS
No major side effects have been reported. Mild side effects have been noted occasionally such as nausea, diarrhea and increased salivation in some. This holds for all forms of phosphatidylcholine.
INTERACTIONS
There are no known interactions.
OVERDOSAGE
There are no reports of overdosage.
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
There are several forms of phosphatidylcholine supplements. Typical commercial lecithin supplements contain 20 to 30% phosphatidylcholine. Softgel capsules containing 55% and 90% phosphatidylcholine are available. Liquid concentrates containing 3 grams of phosphatidylcholine per 5 milliliters (one teaspoon) are also available.
Recommended doses range from 3 to 9 grams of phosphatidylcholine daily in divided doses.
LITERATURE
Atoba MA, Ayoola EA, Ogunseyinde O. Effects of essential phospholipid choline on the course of acute hepatitis-B infection. Trop Gastroenterol. 1985; 6:96-9.
Buko V, Lukivskaya O, Nikitin V, et al. Hepatic and pancreatic effects of polyenoylphosphatidylcholine in rats with alloxan-induced diabetes. Cell Biochem Funct. 1996; 14:131-137.
Canty DJ, Zeisel SH. Lecithin and choline in human health and disease. Nutr Rev. 1994; 52:327-339.
Cohen BM, Lipinski JF, Altesman RI. Lecithin in the treatment of mania: double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. Am J Psychiatry. 1982; 139:1162-1164.
Gelenberg AJ, Dorer DJ, Wojcik JD, et al. A crossover study of lecithin treatment of tardive dyskinesia. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990; 51:149-153.
Growdon JH, Gelenberg AJ, Doller J, et al. Lecithin can suppress tardive dyskinesia. N Engl J Med. 1978; 298:1029-1030.
Hanin I, Ansell GB, eds. Lecithin. Technological, Biological and Therapeutic Aspects. New York and London: Plenum Press; 1987.
Hirsch MJ, Growdon JH, Wurtman RJ. Relations between dietary choline or lecithin intake, serum choline levels, and various metabolic indices. Metabolism. 1978; 27:953-960.
Jackson IV, Nuttall EA, Ibe IO, Perez-Cruet J. Treatment of tardive dyskinesia with lecithin. Am J Psychiatry. 1979; 136:1458-1460.
Jenkins PJ, Portmann BP, Eddleston AL, Williams R. Use of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine in HBsAg negative chronic active hepatitis: results of prospective double-blind controlled trial. Liver. 1982; 2:7-81.
Kosina F, Budka K, Kolouch Z, et al. Essential cholinephospholipids in the treatment of virus hepatitis. Cas Lek Cesk. 1981; 120:957-960.
Lieber CS, Leo MA, Aleynik SI, et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997; 21:375-379.
Lieber CS, De Carl LM, Mak KM, et al. Attenuation of alcohol-induced hepatic fibrosis by polyunsaturated lecithin. Hepatol. 1990; 12:1390-1398.
Little A, Levy R, Chuaqui-Kidd P, Hand D. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of high-dose lecithin in Alzheimer''s disease. J Neur Neurosurg Psych. 1985; 48:736-742.
Visco G. Polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine in association with vitamin B complex in the treatment of acute viral hepatitis B. results of a randomized double-blind clinical study. Clin Ter. 1985; 114:183-188.
Wurtman RJ, Hefti F, Melamed E. Precursor control of neurotransmitter synthesis. Pharmac Rev. 1981; 32:315-335.
Wurtman RJ, Hirsch MJ, Growdon JH. Lecithin consumption raises serum-free-choline levels. Lancet. 1977; 2(8028):68-69.

History of Soy Lecithin
A Special Report on The History of Soy Oil, Soybean Meal, & Modern Soy Protein Products 
A Chapter from the Unpublished Manuscript, History of Soybeans and Soyfoods: 1100 B.C. to the 1980s
by William Shurtleff and Akiko AoyagiâCopyright 2004 Soyfoods Center, Lafayette, California

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Page 1 | Page 2
WHAT IS SOY LECITHIN?
Lecithin is the popular and commercial name for a naturally occurring mixture of phosphatides (also called phospholipids or, more recently by biochemists, phosphoglycerides), which varies in color from light tan to dark reddish brown and in consistency from a fluid to a plastic solid. Lecithin is the gummy material contained in crude vegetable oils and removed by degumming. Soybeans are by far the most important source of commercial lecithin and lecithin is the most important by-product of the soy oil processing industry because of its many applications in foods and industrial products. The three main phosphatides in this complex mixture called "commercial soy lecithin" are phosphatidyl choline (also called "pure" or "chemical" lecithin to distinguish it from the natural mixture), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (popularly called "cephalin"), and phosphatidyl inositols (also called inositol phosphatides). Commercial soy lecithin also typically contains roughly 30-35% unrefined soy oil. Indeed lecithin is one of the most complex and versatile substances derived from the soybean.
Etymology and Nomenclature. The word "lecithin" is derived from the Greek term lekithos meaning "egg yolk." In 1846 Gobley isolated lecithin from egg yolk and in 1850 gave it its present name (Maclean and Maclean 1927). In the late 1800s it was also spelled "lecithine" in English, a spelling that is still used (conveniently) in German to refer to the pure or chemical lecithin (Kunze 1941). In present-day English, the term "lecithin" has two different meanings, which can be confusing. To most food processors and chemists it refers to the natural complex mixture of phosphatides, but to most regular chemists, biochemists, and pharmacists it is a trivial term for the chemically pure phosphatide, phosphatidyl choline. In this chapter we will consistently use the term "lecithin" in its broader sense, to refer to the natural complex. The commercial term "soybean phosphatides" may be used to denote the oil-free lecithin complex.
Manufacture. Lecithin is obtained in the process of degumming crude soy oil, usually at the refinery of the company making commercial lecithin rather than at the oil mill. Crude soy oil contains an average of 1.8% (range 1.2-3.2%; Bailey 1951) hydratable compounds, primarily lecithin phosphatides. Roughly 1% of live steam or warm water is added to the crude soy oil at about 70*C, in a batch or continuous process. The emulsion is then agitated or stirred for 10-60 minutes as the phosphatides hydrate and agglomerate, forming a heavy oil-insoluble sludge, which is separated from the oil by use of a centrifuge. The sludge coming from the degumming centrifuge, a lecithin and water emulsion containing 25-50% water, may then be bleached once or twice, typically with hydrogen peroxide, to reduce its color from brown or beige to light yellow. Fluidizing ad***ives such as soy oil, fatty acids, or calcium chloride can then be added?? to reduce the viscosity to that of honey and prevent the end product, on cooling, from being a highly plastic solid. Finally the product is film or batch dried to reduce the moisture to about 1% (Szuhaj 1980). Whether bleached or not, the finished commercial product is called "unrefined lecithin" or "natural lecithin;" it contains 65-70% phosphatides and 30-35% crude soy oil. The oil in unrefined lecithin can be removed by extraction with acetone (phosphatides are insoluble in acetone) to give a dry granular product called "refined lecithin."
Varieties of Lecithin and Their Composition. All varieties of soy lecithin can be classified into three broad types: unrefined or natural (including bleached varieties), refined, and chemically modified. Unrefined or natural lecithin comes in six basic varieties, long defined by specifications of the National Soybean Processors Association: plastic or fluid, each either unbleached, bleached, or double bleached. (Because fluid lecithins are easier to handle and dissolve more rapidly in various solvents, only small amounts of plastic grades are now produced.) Refined lecithin (which has had the oil removed using acetone) comes in three basic varieties: custom blended natural, oil free phosphatides (as is or custom blended), and alcohol-fractionated oil-free phosphatides (as is or custom blended). These latter special refined grades, which may contain 60-99.7% phosphatidyl choline, are used mostly for pharmaceutical applications and research (Brekke 1980). Chemically modified lecithin products, altered through selective chemical treatment, improve lecithin''s compatibility to certain systems. Szuhaj (1983), using another method of classification, has noted that in ad***ion to the six basic types of natural or unrefined lecithin, there are six types of upgraded lecithin products, including clarified lecithins (filtered), fluidized lecithins, compounded lecithins, hydroxylated lecithin, deoiled lecithin (granular), and fractionated lecithin. Recent composition figures for both unrefined (natural) and refined (deoiled) lecithin are given in Figure 28.1. Interestingly, earlier publications (Erdahl 1973 in Wood and Allison 1981; Brian 1976) showed these two products to contain significantly higher percentages of the three major phosphatides and no glycolipids.
Lecithin is also available as a dietary supplement in two forms: as granular lecithin (oil-free refined lecithin with calcium phosphate as a flow agent) and as capsules, containing a dispersion in oil (Wood and Allison 1981).
Fig. ??.?. Composition by Weight of Unrefined and Refined Soy Lecithin

Oil-Free Compound
Unrefined Lecithin
Refined Lecithin

Phosphatidyl choline
17.5%
23%

Phosphatidyl ethanolamine
15.0%
20%

Phosphatidyl inositol
10.0%
14%

Other phospholipids
14-18%


Unrefined soy oil
31-34%
0-3%

Glycolipids
13-16%
13-16%

Neutral lipids (mostly triglycerides)
2-4%
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Phosphatides

Source: B.F. Szuhaj (1982), Central Soya Co., Inc. Lecithin Div. Fort Wayne, Indiana. Personal communication.
Structurally, the phosphatides in soy lecithin consist of glycerides (the basic component of soy oil; see Chapter 40) in which one fatty acid radical has been replaced with phosphoric acid. In the case of pure or chemical lecithin (phosphatidyl choline), the phosphoric acid is further esterified with choline; in cephalin it is similarly esterified with cholamine. Lecithin is composed mostly of fatty acids, and they are in roughly the same proportion as in soy oil; 50-57% linoleic and 5% linolenic.
Natural Sources of Lecithin. The most concentrated natural and unrefined sources of lecithin are soybeans (1.48 to 3.08% lecithin), peanuts (1.11%), calf liver (0.85%), wheat (0.61%), oatmeal (0.65%), and eggs (0.39%) (Wood and Allison 1981). The human spinal cord contains 6-10% lecithin and the human brain 4-6% lecithin in fresh substance. Among refined substances, especially concentrated sources of lecithin include dehydrated (powdered) egg yolk (14-20%), natural egg yolk (7-10%), wheat germ 2.82%, soy oil (1.8% but 2.65% including the 30-35% entrained soy oil??), and butterfat (1.4%). Soy oil has the highest lecithin and phosphatide content of any known oil; other vegetable oils average 0.5% lecithin. Unlike animal phosphatides, soybean phosphatides contain no cholesterol. In plant seeds the phosphatides are largely associated with oil, but strangely their content varies roughly with the protein rather than the oil content (Stanley 1950). Moreover, all of the above indicates that phosphatides and lecithin appear to be closely connected with the most important vital and reproductive organs and processes. In ad***ion to the spinal cord, brain, eggs, and seeds, they are also concentrated in the nerves, liver, kidneys, and sperm. Actually, lecithin is found in the cell membranes of all human cells, and they tend to be most concentrated where membrane functions are specialized. Lecithin compounds are also closely associated with fatty acids in the body.
Functional Properties. Lecithin is a multi-functional surface-active agent. Each molecule has, like Janus, two faces. The fatty-acid portion of the molecule is attracted to fats (it is lipotrophic) and the phosphoric acid?? portion is attracted to water (it is hydrotrophic). Because of this dual nature, lecithin molecules tend to position themselves at the boundary between immiscible materials, such as oil and water. There they serve many useful functions through a surface modifying effect. According to Szuhaj (1980, 1983) lecithin serves the following major functions: (1) Emulsifying allows the mixing of otherwise immiscible substances, especially in water-in-oil systems, such as margarine and chocolate. This is the most widespread of its various uses; (2) Solubilization makes it possible to dissolve oils (such as flavor oils and oil-soluble colors) in water; (3) Suspension, for example, keeps pigments dispersed in paints, preventing agglomeration; (4) Wetting/instantizing helps powers to dissolve quickly in water; (5) Lubrication and Release; when lecithin is applied in a thin film to a cooking utensil or a mold, it promotes release of food or other materials from that surface; (6) Crystallization Control is used especially to control the crystallization of sugar in fat systems, as in chocolate; (7) Complexing tends to retard crystallization of starch associated with staling in baked goods. (8) Anti-spatter, as in margarine; (9) Viscosity Modifying; and (10) Therapeutical. It also serves as a stabilizer in ice creams and shortenings and an antioxidant in oils and fats.
Food Uses. Lecithin is used in a surprisingly large array of our daily foods. Perhaps most widely used in margarine (for anti-spatter and as an emulsifier), it is also used in chocolates, caramels and coatings (to control viscosity, crystallization, weepage, and sticking), in chewing gum (for its softening, plasticizing, and release effects), in instant foods such as cocoa powders, coffee creamer and instant breakfast (for wetting, dispersing, and emulsifying), in calf milk replacers (to add energy and aid digestibility and emulsification). It is also found in baked goods, cheeses, meat and poultry products, dairy and imitation dairy products, and still other products (Stanley 1950; Brekke 1980; Szuhaj 1980, 1983).
Therapeutic Uses. Much research has been done and is being done on the therapeutic use of lecithin, especially in the prevention or treatment of neurochemical and cardiovascular orders. Although the results are not conclusive, many health food consumers use lecithin for benefits they believe it will bring in these areas.
Nonfood and Industrial Uses. In this realm there are at least as many applications as in the food industry. Lecithin is used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, coatings (paints, magnetic tape coatings, waxes, polishes, wood coatings), plastic and rubber industry, glass and ceramic processing, paper and printing, masonry and asphalt products, petroleum industry, metal processing, pesticides, adhesives, textiles, and leathers (Stanley 1950; Brekke 1980; Szuhaj 1980, 1983).
World Production. The major countries refining soy oil (USA, Western Europe, Japan) are also the major producers of soy lecithin. Stanley (1950) estimated that in the year 1936-37 the world produced 1,787,000 tonnes (metric tons) of soy oil. From this it recovered 1,814 tonnes of lecithin and left 47,174 tonnes unrecovered, thereby utilizing only about 4% of potential production. The main producers were the USA, Germany, Japan, Denmark, and Norway. In 1948 world soy lecithin recovery was estimated at 4,535 tonnes, and plant derived lecithin other than soy was estimated at one-fifth this amount. Recovery and utilization of soy lecithin was thought to be less than 10% of potential production. In 1976 Van Nieuwenhuyzen (in Brekke 1980) estimated world recovery of soy lecithin to be 90,700 tonnes a year, from 8.8 million tonnes of soy oil produced containing 233,200 tonnes of soy lecithin. Thus roughly 39% of the total lecithin was recovered and used. Clearly the percentage used has been increasing, but the majority that could be recovered is not yet used directly. The unsold portion is mixed back into defatted soybean meal, which is used for livestock fodder. Although this practice is not widely discussed by the industry, the lecithin is not considered a negative nor a positive factor.
 
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HISTORY OF SOY LECITHIN IN EUROPE
The world''s earliest research on and production of lecithin and soy lecithin was done in Europe, with first France, then Germany leading the way.
Early Research (Pre 1900). The first indication of the occurrence of complex fatty acids was obtained by the Frenchman Fourcroy in 1793 and in 1812 Vauquelin succeeded in isolating phosphorous-containing fats from the brain. Fremy in 1841 called one of Vauquelin''s compounds "oleophosphoric acid." The actual discovery of lecithin, however, is cre***ed to the Frenchman Gobley. Gobley (1846, 1847 Refs??) isolated from egg yolks a soft, viscous, orange colored substance which made an emulsion with water. In 1850 he named it "lecithin." (Maclean and Maclean 1927). Later Gobley found similar substances in the brain of birds, sheep, and humans, in the eggs and milk of carp, in blood, gall, and edible snails. He realized that lecithin was a mixture of substances. In Germany the lecithin described by Gobley was first investigated precisely in the laboratory of Hoppe-Seyler in Tubingen. Diaknow (1867-68 Ref??) succeeded in obtaining very pure lecithin from egg yolk, caviar, and brain, and in proving that the nitrogen-containing portion was choline (Kunze 1941). The classical European treatises on lecithin (such as Thudichum''s A Treatise on the Chemical Constitution of the Brain, of 1884 Ref??) dealt mostly with the phosphatides of animal origin.
The earliest known reference to the presence of lecithin in soybeans was published by Schulze and Steiger at Zurich, Switzerland, in 1889. In an article on the lecithin content of plant seeds (in German), they reported in passing that soybeans contained small quantities of lecithin, which they measured in terms of its content of magnesium diphosphate (Mg2P2O7^). In 1894 Schulze and Frankfurt reported that soybeans contained 1.64% lecithin by weight. In 1897 Hanai in Japan, in the first English-language publication mentioning soy lecithin, cited Schulze and Steiger in noting that "Seeds rich in starch generally contain much less lecithin than such as are rich in proteid, thus barley grains contain less than half the amount of lecithin that soja-beans do. Probably there is also a larger proportion of lecith-albumin in the seed of soja and lupin than in those of squash and barley." In France the soy pioneers Li and Grandvoinnet noted in 1911-12 that "Soybeans contain a notable quantity of lecithin, as pointed out by various authors."
1900-1939. As the soybean crushing and soy oil refining industries in Europe expanded from 1908 on, ever larger amounts of sludge from the degumming soy oil were produced. There were major problems in disposing of this since it tended to ferment and smell bad. Plants in Germany decided to dry this sludge under a vacuum and rename it "soybean lecithin." The manufacture of lecithin from mechanically pressed soy oil was expensive because it required the use of several solvents, evaporations, and other steps. However the installation of solvent extraction plants for processing soybeans in Germany in the early 1920s furnished a convenient means of separating and purifying soy lecithin without the use of solvents. Germany led the way in the development of lecithin recovery in large part because the country also pioneered solvent extraction (Eichberg 1947).
Interestingly, the earliest processes and patents related to lecithin involve its extraction from soybean cake or flour, rather than from oil. In about 1915 G.F. Hildebrandt in Hamburg, then Germany''s main oilseed crushing center, developed a process for the purification of crude lecithin removed from soybean cake or flour. Details of the process are not known (Matagrin 1939). In 1919 Baumann (Bollmann??) and Grossfield (Crossfield?? Ref??) patented a process for the extraction and purification of lecithin from soy cake or flour (British patent 144,225. July 11), using a solvent and ethyl acetate, which separated the oil and the phosphatides. Later important refinements on the process were made in 1927 (German patent 505,354) and 1933 (French patent 759,007). Also during this early period, in 1921, Mueller in Germany described a process for using a lecithin to give margarine a butter-like aroma--a unique and intriguing concept (Matagrin 1939).
The first person to envision the possibility of commercial production of lecithin from soybeans and to develop practical processes and equipment therefore was Hermann Bollmann, of the Hanseatische Muehlenwerke (Hansa Muehle^) in Hamburg, Germany. His work led to the development of an entirely new source of phosphatides and of lecithin, this time from plants. On 8 October 1923 Bollmann was granted German Patent 382,912 for the extraction of soy lecithin from soy oil. Previously, in August of that year, he had been granted a similar patent in the USA. Bollmann originally used a combined solvent of about 2 parts ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and 3 parts benzol or a volatile liquid hydrocarbon on the theory that the residual meal would be more palatable. Also this combined solvent gave a larger lecithin yield than hexane, which was widely used after 1935 (Eichberg 1939). The solvents were evaporated from the miscella and steam was injected into the crude oil to hydrate the phosphatides, which were removed in the early days by settling out, later by centrifugation. Finally they were dried under a vacuum at about 60*C to obtain a brown viscous liquid. The early lecithin was not of much value since the extensive heat to which this heat-sensitive substance was subjected often turned it dark brown and caused it to smell bad. However in 1909 and 1911 H. Buer had pointed out the heat sensitivity of lecithin and been granted Swiss (No. 47,785) and German (No. 261,212) patents for a method to obtain a (non-soy) lecithin almost free of flavor and odor. Bollmann, who was also aware of lecithin''s heat sensitivity, and subsequent researchers built new equipment to operate at lower temperatures. Using this, plus new methods incorporating Buer''s (see Bollmann''s German patent 485,676 of 1929), a high-quality soy lecithin was finally obtained. Bollmann''s process was perfected by Bruno Rewald (US Patent 1,895,434. 24 Jan. 1933), who had gone to work for Hansa Muehle^ as chief chemist shortly after Bollmann patented his lecithin recovery process. Bollmann worked on processes to recover lecithin and Rewald did research on how to improve and apply it. Rewald''s 1933 patent used a centrifuge and an acetone wash to ingeniously protect the phosphatides from oxidation.
Apparently commercial production of soy lecithin began in Germany in about 1923, at the time Bollmann was issued his patent, for in 1925 Levene and Rolf in New York reported that Bollmann had supplied them with a "considerable quantity of commercial lecithin obtained from soy beans." They analyzed this product and described its principal characteristics (relative to the then standard commercial lecithin derived from egg yolks) as "the low proportion of saturated fatty acids, the absence of unsaturated fatty acid containing a longer carbon chain than C-18, and the presence of linolenic acid." In ad***ion to pure lecithin the commercial product was also found to contain cephalin.
In the early days great difficulty was experienced in finding uses for lecithin. Since the early 1900s there had been considerable interest in the possible health benefits of lecithin as a food supplement. This interest stemmed largely from the physiological observation that relatively large amounts of lecithin were found in the human brain (first reported in 1884), the liver, and the sheaths surrounding nerve fibers. Starting in the 1920s, considerable research on the therapeutic value of lecithin was published in Europe, especially in Germany. (Unfortunately, little of it has been translated into English or cited in English-language documents, perhaps because of equivocal results.) Initially it was thought that lecithin could be used in "nerve tonics" like sodium phosphates and phytin, or to help reduce the effects of alcohol intoxication (Horvath 1927). In 1934 Ma and co-workers in China published a curious article on "A Comfortable and Spontaneous Cure for the Opium Habit by means of a Lecithin" in an English-language medical journal. The treatment, which called for 20-30 gm of soy lecithin taken orally after each meal, could have created a huge demand if prescribed for all Chinese habituated to opium. Actually these various therapeutic uses consumed very little of the fledgling product.
Starting in the mid-1920s, at the same time that therapeutic uses of soy lecithin were attracting considerable interest, much more important research on food and industrial applications was getting underway. Most of this early research and development was done in Germany, then the world leader in the field, but only a small fraction of it was published, since the aim in most cases was the securing of patents by private companies (Horvath 1935). By 1939 more than a thousand new uses for lecithin had been discovered, and many patented. A large proportion of the early patents were granted to Bollmann and, after 1930, to Rewald, often jointly with his Hansa Muehle^ co-worker, and usually in a number of countries, including the US. As early as 1924 Bollmann pointed out that the ad***ion of small amounts of lecithin to refined oils (from which the lecithin was removed) retards ranci***y (US Patent 1,575,529). His discovery of a method for purifying phosphatides and refining lecithin was another important advance (British Patent 259,166 of 1925, also patented in Germany on 14 April 1925). Applications for lecithin in tanning leather (1928), improving macaroni (1928), and for textile production (1933-34) were other early advances (Stanley 1950).
Prior to 1930, the term "lecithin" in commercial directories referred to egg yolk lecithin. While egg yolks themselves were fairly widely used in mayonnaise, some dressings, and some margarine, egg yolk lecithin was never much more than a laboratory curiosity and a costly pharmaceutical. In ad***ion to being expensive, egg and animal lecithins do not keep well and they have a disagreeable odor and taste. Although soy lecithin could not replace egg yolk in all its applications, it did generally replace egg yolk lecithin after 1930 as the standard commercial lecithin. Moreover, it was the first lecithin of any type to find widespread commercial application.
Soy lecithin''s first major market in Europe was in margarine. It was used experimentally as early as 1925 by small margarine manufacturers in Hamburg, Germany. The use of egg yolk in margarine was first patented in Germany in 1884 Ref??. A few tenths of a percent of soy lecithin in margarine aided emulsification in this water-in-oil (20:80) emulsion, prevented splattering during pan frying (the explosive evaporation of water when finely dispersed particles form large droplets), improved browning of milk solids, and kept the latter from lumping and sticking. Working (1936) noted that "In margarines without lecithin there is a marked tendency for the water to drain out and evaporate, leaving the salt on the wrapper instead of in the margarine." Horvath (1935) noted that more than 454,000 kg (1 million lb) were then being used annually in the German margarine industry. By 1930 lecithin was also widely used by the chocolate and cocoa industries, especially in England. It improved the wetting and dispersing properties of cocoa powder, partially replaced expensive cocoa butter, aided emulsification, and reduced "weepage" or "chocolate bloom" (Morgan 1930).
By 1932 Hansa Muehle^ had introduced and patented a line of three commercial lecithin products: Emulex, a dark, thick lecithin was used in paints and printing; Lecivon had a wide range of uses; and Splendicithin, a fluid product, was used with textiles. By the mid-1930s lecithin (sometimes with cholesterol) was the rage in European beauty products such as skin creams, "nutritive" creams, beauty soaps, and cosmetics; it provided better softening and penetrating properties. By 1938 lecithin was being used by the rubber and leather industries.
By 1934 Europe''s major soy lecithin producing countries were Germany, Denmark, England, and Norway. In 1930 the Austro-Hungarian soyfoods pioneer Berczeller was granted a patent for lecithin in Britain (No. 361,956, Aug. 25).
Amadee Matagrin played an important role in introducing and popularizing lecithin in France. He discussed its many applications in a scientific article in 1936, then in 1939 wrote an excellent book Le Soja, that mentioned soy lecithin in the subtitle. It contained a 26-page review of the literature on soy lecithin plus a bibliography of 31 references and a discussion of uses of soy lecithin worldwide.
1940-1983. In 1941 Kunze published a remarkable 166-page book titled Lecithin, in German, which showed vividly the extensive scientific research done in Germany on all aspects of lecithin, primarily soy lecithin. There was a detailed 22-page section on therapeutic uses of lecithin, including its connection to the blood and its components, to the heart and vascular system, nervous system, digestive system, and to other systems and organs. The book cited over 1,000 references, including roughly 695 on the physiological and therapeutical uses and use possibilities of lecithin. Kunze noted: "Today most of the lecithin in trade is obtained from soybeans. The rise of soy oil production finally made lecithin a substance available in large quantities at low prices, since lecithin must be removed anyway from soy oil to give a good quality product. In 1941 the German margarine industry alone used about 500 tonnes of lecithin."
Interest in the possible therapeutic value of lecithin was stimulated in the mid-1970s when Natterman, a German lecithin marketing company, hired many scientists at various clinics to research their lecithin and write scientific articles about it. In 1975?? a symposium was held in Belgium and the proceedings were published in a large book e***ed by Peeters (1976). Though much of the research was well done, the entire project raised a storm of controversy. First, the company and scientists have coined a new term, "Essential Phospholipids," which was not considered scientific or valid, since phospholipids, made in the body from dietary lipids and phosphorus, had never been shown to be an essential component. Second, the entire project was considered somewhat contrived, with "paid for" conclusions. The result was that in the following years many other researchers went out of their way to look for negative aspects of lecithin to counter what some considered commercial "propaganda."
During World War II Germany''s mighty lecithin industry, centered in Hamburg, had been reduced to rubble by Allied bombs. Hansa Muehle^ was largely destroyed; after the war it was renamed Oelmuehle^ Hamburg. By the 1950s the industry was back on its feet; the main application of lecithin once again was in margarine (Bailey 1951). Small amounts of rapeseed lecithin were produced in Germany and peanut lecithin in England, but soy lecithin increasingly dominated the trade.
In 1983 Europe''s largest lecithin producer by quantity was the Unimills division of Unilever. Lucas Meyer GMBH was second, and N.V. Vamo Mills was third. Lucas Meyer, however, is not actually a manufacturer of lecithin and never has been. They buy unrefined lecithin from oil mills for resale and in some cases for blending or refining. Thus they are large sellers of lecithin, with the world''s largest product range and largest worldwide sales. They have plants in Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, the UK, and the USA (Decatur, Ill.). Headquartered in Hamburg, Lucas Meyer started processing lecithin for food use in 1949 and for industrial use in 1952. Unilever uses large amounts of its lecithin in its own products and also sells to others. A list of Europe''s large lecithin manufacturers is given in the current issue of the Soya Bluebook.
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HISTORY OF SOY LECITHIN IN THE UNITED STATESThe Early Years (1923-39). The US fell heir to extensive early research and development on lecithin and soy lecithin done in Europe. The earliest known reference to soy lecithin in the US was in 1923, when Bollmann was issued a patent on a "Process for Obtaining Lecithin from Vegetable Raw Materials" (US Patent 1,464,557. Aug. 14). As early as 1923 a man named James W. Conway, who owned a small diversified business in Atlanta, Georgia, came to appreciate the potential of solvent extraction and lecithin recovery. He and his associates negotiated with Bollmann for licenses under the latter''s American patents. A pioneer plant was put under construction in Norfolk, Virginia, but for various reasons it never progressed to regular commercial operations. Yet the enterprise gave stimulus to the introduction of both soy lecithin and solvent extraction (Eichberg 1939). In 1928 Bollmann was issued two more US lecithin patents. One was for a "Process of Purifying Phosphatides Obtained from Oilseeds and the Like" (No. 1,667,767. May 1), which was a patent on refining lecithin, and the second was an improved version of his basic process (No. 1,673,615. June 12). The first US research on soy lecithin was published in 1925, when Levene and Rolf at the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research in New York analyzed commercial soy lecithin from Europe, as described above. That same year they fractionated brominated soy lecithin, which indicated that this lecithin was a mixture of several individual forms. By 1931 they had used acetone to isolate cephalin, a concentrated constituent of the human brain, from soy lecithin.
The first soy lecithin appeared on the US market in 1929, when it was imported from Germany by American Associated Co. of Atlanta, Georgia, one of the subsequent founders of American Lecithin Corporation (Eichberg 1942). For the next 5 years all soy lecithin used in the US was imported from Germany and Denmark, the Danish product by Fries Bros. in New York. In 1932 Schweiger was issued a US patent (No. 1,892,588. Dec. 27) for producing a light-colored lecithin by bleaching it with hydrogen peroxide, a process that is still widely used.
One organization that pioneered in the introduction of lecithin to the US was the American Lecithin Corporation. It so happened that James W. Conway, mentioned above for his early interest in lecithin and attempt to start a plant, rented office space in a building owned by American Associated Companies (AAC), a mini-conglomerate in Atlanta. In about 1928 he started discussing his ideas with AAC, which contacted Hansa Muehle^ in Hamburg and assigned Joseph Eichberg, an AAC employee, to work on the project. In 1929 Eichberg and Bruno Rewald from Hansa Muehle^ traveled the US together, checking out prospects. In about 1930 American lecithin Corporation was incorporated in Atlanta, with Joseph Eichberg as president; most of the stock was owned by AAC, but Hansa Muehle^ may have owned a small portion. As the exclusive US representative of Germany''s Hansa Muehle^, ALC acquired rights under the key lecithin patents from Hansa Muehle^ (then the leading lecithin producer in Germany and owner of patents granted to Bollmann, Rewald, and others), and prepared to grant licenses on the patents and lease the equipment to American companies interested in manufacturing lecithin in America. From 1930-1934 ALC imported lecithin from Germany and marketed it in the US, but it did not manufacture lecithin.
Commercial production of lecithin began relatively late in the US, which is not surprising when it is recalled that the soybean crushing and refining industries did not really begin their takeoff until the mid-1930s. In 1934 the Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), at their plant in Chicago, became the first in America to manufacture soy lecithin. Made under license under the Hansa Muehle^ patents via ALC, this was also the first commercial lecithin of any type made in America. The next year the Glidden Company, again under license from ALC, began making soy lecithin at their solvent extraction plant in Chicago. In 1934-35 ALC was reorganized as the American Lecithin Company to promote the production and sale of lecithin in the US and to give the major manufacturers a major share of the ownership. The stockholders of the new ALC were ADM, Glidden, Hansa Muehle^, American Lecithin Corporation, and Aarhus Oliefabrik, the Danish lecithin producer. The various patent positions were reconciled. Joseph Eichberg was president of the new ALC and Adrian D. Joyce, then president of Glidden, was Chairman of the Board. The new company was chartered in Ohio, where laws were favorable and Glidden''s legal staff was located, but Eichberg and working headquarters were located in New York. Ross & Rowe, later acquired by ADM, were active in selling for the new ALC. As domestic production swelled, imports from Europe dwindled. ALC''s main source of income was from development of markets for lecithin and profits on those sales; income from royalties on patents was secondary.
In 1935 two ADM research scientists, Sorensen and Beal (sp??), patented an extraction process (US Patent 2,024,398. Dec. 17) using hexane; this led to hexane becoming the standard solvent for vegetable oil extraction in the US. The new hexane process yielded less lecithin than the Bollmann ethanol-benzol process; of the 1.5-3% phosphatides in whole soybeans, roughly 1% was left in the meal (Eichberg 1939). However the new lecithin had a much lower carbohydrate content and a much better color, odor, and flavor (less bitter). Hence, it found more widespread acceptance. Nevertheless, ADM (and Glidden) continued to operate under license on a number of other Hansa Muehle^ patents, as for bleaching and various applications. Glidden first began to market its own lecithin in 1946 (Soybean Digest 1946) and ADM followed suit in about 1950, when it stopped selling through ALC. ALC went its own way too; in 1947 it first started to do some of its own ad***ional processing and refining of lecithin, making various specialty products, for bakers and others. After severance of marketing ties with Glidden and ??, ADM (American Lecithin Company??) continued to license others to manufacture lecithin under some of the patents and then bought lecithin from them and marketed it. In about 1959 Eichberg and ALC moved back to Atlanta and organized a new corporation. Today ALC is still active buying and selling lecithin and making some compositions of their own, though all the early patents have, of course, expired.
Egg yolks, although used in only small amounts for pharmaceutical purposes, were the leading US source of lecithin until 1935, when they were passed by soybeans. At the time of its introduction to the US in 1929, soy lecithin sold for $1.40 a pound, or about 15 times the price of soy oil. The price quickly dropped, especially as production began in America. By 1939 the price had fallen to $0.47 a pound, about 1/3 of the 1929 level, and by 1942 to $0.25-$0.30 a pounds, which was then about 2.5 times the price of soy oil (Eichberg 1939, 1942). By 1950 it sold for about $0.15 a pound, or about the same price as soy oil, which was much less than egg yolk lecithin. Of course, soy lecithin was a by-product of soy oil refining, which was key factor in its low cost. Soy lecithin replaced egg yolk lecithin primarily because of its lower price, but also because it had excellent emulsifying and other functional properties, plus its good taste and color.
The various food and industrial uses for lecithin that had been developed in Europe were quickly adopted in America. As in Europe, the two earliest applications were in chocolate and margarine. The first commercial lecithin brought to America in 1929 was used in chocolates and shortly thereafter it came to be used in at levels up to 0.3% in margarines. By helping to counteract spattering and sticking, it served to transform margarine into a more universal household fat, for kitchen as well as table spread use (Eichberg 1939, 1947). By the mid-1930s lecithin was also increasingly used in cosmetics, soaps, paints, shortening, textiles, and rubber.
During the 1930s various scientists and manufacturers helped to make lecithin better known and understood in the US. Dr. A.A. Horvath, in numerous articles and speeches (1931c, 1935, 1936, 1937) discussed the importance of lecithin and in 1936 noted: "If the soybean oil mills in our country had extracted in 1934 only one-fourth of the phosphatides contained in the 7,000,000 bushels of crushed beans that were produced, it would have yielded about 3,500,000 lb of technical grade phosphatides and provided an ad***ional income of nearly $1,500,000." Henry Ford, in 1938, began to work with lecithin as part of his chemurgy campaign (see Chapter 63) and he was soon using it to extend the life of rubber products in his cars.
During the mid-1930s a growing number of articles appeared in the technical literature discussing the manufacture, composition, and applications of soy lecithin. Of particular interest were the reviews of Working (1936), Wiesehahn (1937), and Eichberg (1939).

US Research on the Therapeutic Value of Lecithin (1931-1980s). Research on possible therapeutic, pharmaceutical, and nutritional uses of lecithin, already well underway in Europe, began in the US in the early 1930s, at about the same time as commercial lecithin production. Several points are worth noting concerning this research, which has continued to date: first that extensive research has been done; second that it is largely unreported in the popular literature that makes strong claims for the therapeutic value of lecithin; and third that much of the research is generally considered inconclusive. The earliest lecithin research in the US was done with animals using egg yolk lecithin. In 1931 and 1932 three studies on the effects of lecithin on the pancreas and liver functions of dogs were published in the American Journal of Physiology and the Journal of Physiology were promising. By 1943 at least 16 animal experiments had been published (American Lecithin Co. 1944).
In about 1939 the American Lecithin Co. began to give grants to sponsor lecithin research in the US and to bring lecithin to the attention of the medical profession. A number of scientists and physicians did studies of the therapeutic value of soy lecithin. In about 1944 the results of these and other promising studies, all already published in reputable scientific journals, were collected by ALC into a 23-page booklet entitled Soybean Lecithin. The ten human studies included those on lowering high serum cholesterol, absorption of vitamin A, psoriasis, and liver disorders. There were also summaries of 16 animal studies. A number of the more significant human studies will be summarized below. In the early 1940s American Lecithin Co. introduced, for therapeutic purposes, a cookie type product with a lecithin filling called Lexo Wafers and then in about 1945 called GRANULESTIN, consisting of mainly granular lecithin plus small amounts of wheat germ. In 1946, after Glidden and ALC had separated, Jack Lathe of Glidden in Chicago began to push the sale of granular lecithin aggressively in the health food market. Glidden packaged the product under their own label as "RG Granules" (J. Eichberg 1983, personal communication).
Many of the early US studies on the therapeutic value of lecithin were concerned with its ability to combat arteriosclerosis and reduce serum cholesterol levels. During the early 1940s, when extensive research began, it was noted that lecithin, originally present in many tra***ional whole and unprocessed foods, was increasingly considered a nuisance (especially in vegetable oils and whole grains) and was removed or altered by modern refining techniques, thus increasing the likelihood of a dietary imbalance or deficiency (Eichberg 1942). In 1942 Kesten and Silbowitz fed soy lecithin to rabbits maintained on an atherogenic diet. Hypercholesterolemia (high serum cholesterol) and arteriosclerosis were reduced in five of the seven animals. In 1943 Adlersberg and Sobotka (Ref??) reported striking decreases in serum cholesterol levels in five human patients receiving 12-15 grams daily of unrefined soy lecithin in the diet for 2-3 months. Six months after the lecithin supplements had been discontinued the cholesterol concentrations had returned to their former high levels. Similar results in treating atherosclerosis and hypocholesterolemia were obtained by Steiner and Domanski (1944 Ref??), who administered 25 gm of soy lecithin in the diets of eight patients for 6 weeks. In 1952 Pottenger and Krohn fed 122 patients a diet high in saturated fats and cholesterol, then administered 1 teaspoon of soy lecithin at mealtimes to 99 of the patients. Blood cholesterol showed a marked decrease in 79% of the patients who took the lecithin, but not in those who did not take it. In 1958 Morrison, in a very impressive study, administered 1-2 tablespoons of soy lecithin (containing only 3% soy oil) to patients with high serum cholesterol levels, which low fat diets and other cholesterol lowering agents had been unable to cure. Effective and statistically significant reduction in serum cholesterol occurred in the majority of the patients treated; 12 of the 15 patients treated showed a striking reduction of 41% or 156 mg in 3 months following lecithin intake.
Lecithin was used to combat other diseases as well. In 1940 Jukes showed it to be an essential factor in the prevention of fatty degeneration of the liver. Goldman (1942) and Smith, Goldman, and Fox (1942 Ref??) used it in the treatment of psoriasis. Pottenger (1944) used it to cure a wide range of skin diseases, including keratoses (horny growths), eczema, and scleroderma. Dietrich (1950??) administered lecithin and vitamin E to reduce insulin requirements of diabetics. During the 1950s lecithin was also reported to be useful in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and was recommended as a source of choline and inositol, both important B-vitamins, and of polyunsaturated linoleic acid, found in the soy oil; egg lecithin, by contrast, contains primarily saturated fatty acids.
Research on using lecithin to combat coronary heart disease slowed during the 1960s and 1970s, despite the greatly increased concern with the disease, America''s number one killer, and despite unequivocal earlier successes in lowering serum cholesterol. There were several possible reasons for this. First, the big pharmaceutical companies had little incentive to spend large amounts of research money on proving that lecithin, a natural food, had therapeutic value, since they would be unable to get a money-making patented compound out of it. The lecithin would be available to anyone at low cost. Second, lecithin, being a complex natural food, was not as highly regarded by the medical profession as if it had been a pure chemical substance; nor was it considered wise to try to prove that a natural food could have therapeutic value. The Western medical and nutritional professions looked down on such notions. Third, the growing natural- and health-food industries looked to lecithin manufacturers to conduct studies on the health benefits of their product, but the small profits from lecithin sales would not warrant the large cost of such studies. And fourth, a number of researchers (as summarized by Wood and Allison 1981) were unable to show that lecithin lowered serum cholesterol or other lipids. Despite all this, popular interest in lecithin grew dramatically after the mid-1950s, together with the rising popular concern with cholesterol and heart disease. Interest was fueled by books (such as Adelle Davis'' Let''s Eat Right to Keep Fit, 1954) and health food magazines (such as Prevention) that brought positive findings on lecithin and cholesterol reduction to the attention of the growing natural- and health food movements. Many scientific studies continued to show promising results. In 1965 O. Davis and co-workers (Ref??) studied 362 patients with high serum cholesterol who were maintained on their usual diet supplemented by 25 gm per day of soy lecithin for periods of 6-18 weeks. Plasma cholesterols were significantly reduced in 6 weeks and were maintained in 192 patients who were observed after 18 weeks. Six weeks after the regimen was stopped a rise in cholesterol was noted. Skorepa et al. (1976) reported that the consumption of 1.8 gm per day of phosphatidyl choline (chemically pure lecithin) for 8 weeks reduced total serum cholesterol by 12% in 12 hypercholesterolemic patients. Beil and Grundy (1980 Ref??) found that sustained administration of 25 gm per day or more of lecithin gave best results in reducing the size and numbers of chylomicrons (lipid particles formed in the blood during fat assimilation) and lowering the plasma cholesterol content.
During the 1970s some new directions in the therapeutic use of lecithin were investigated. Various researchers found it effective in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia (define??), in restoring memory, and combatting various neurological disturbances?? By the early 1980s a remarkably large body of research existed on the therapeutic uses of lecithin, however it was somewhat inconclusive, with some contradictory findings. In ad***ion, the 1976 "Peeters Report," funded by a major German lecithin seller, both stirred up controversy and added interesting new research findings (see Europe, above). Then in 1979 an entire book on Choline and Lecithin in Brain Disorders, e***ed by Barbeau et al. (Ref??) was published. Its findings looked promising??
For these and other reasons, in 1981 the Bureau of Food of the US Food and Drug Administration contracted with the Life Sciences Research Office of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology to do a comprehensive review of the literature. Wood and Allison, in their report
"Effects of Consumption of Choline and Lecithin on Neurological and Cardiovascular Systems," containing over 300 references, concluded that while regular consumption of soy lecithin lowers cholesterol content, the preponderance of evidence indicates that a diet rich in unsaturated fats and oils is more effective in doing this, although there are some data to the contrary. "There is little basis for ascribing benefits or hazards to healthy persons from supplementation of their diets with lecithin or choline." However it produced improvement in some patients with tardive dyskinesia and other neurological disorders, and may possibly lead to improved memory. The lecithin industry apparently agreed with the generally cautious tenor of the report. For example, in 19?? when Central Soya published a promotional brochure on their granular lecithin, they noted that "The therapeutical benefits of soy phosphatides have not been fully established . . . " There was general agreement that the most promising interest lay in the possible use of lecithin to treat neurological and nervous disorders, and to affect aging and memory. Szuhaj (1983) noted: "Research work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has shown that lecithin is effective in reducing the symptoms of specific neurological disorders. The findings have led medical researchers into exploring the effects of lecithin and memory. Their findings over the next decade will prove most interesting."
The US Lecithin Industry and Market (1940-1980s). Starting in the early 1940s, recovery and utilization of soy lecithin in the US began to grow very rapidly, from about 907 tonnes (2 million lb) in 1946, to 3,629 tonnes (8 million lb and 20% of total production) in 1947-48, up to 36,280 tonnes (80 million lb and 36% of total production) in 1976 (Stanley 1950; Brian 1976; Brekke 1980). The roughly two-thirds of all lecithin produced that was not recovered, since food and industrial markets could not absorb it, was left in the degumming emulsion and used in livestock feeds or sold for soap stock. By the early 1980s the US produced about 45% of the world''s commercial lecithin (Szuhaj 1983). The great majority of the commercial lecithin produced in the US has always been soy lecithin, although small amounts from other vegetable oils (such as corn and sunflower oils) are also available.
In 1950 Joseph Stanley, of the Joseph Stanley Company in Chicago, wrote a 54-page chapter entitled "Production and Utilization of Lecithin" in Markely''s classic work on soybeans. Containing by far the best English-language review of the world literature to date with hundreds of references, it also gave a clear picture of the history and present status of soy lecithin. Food and industrial applications were described in detail. The main food applications, in approximate order of importance, were margarine, chocolate, confectionery and ice cream, baked products, and macaroni. It listed specifications for the six basic types of commercial lecithins (plastic or fluid; unbleached, single-bleached, or double-bleached) established in 1946 by the National Soybean Processors Association, noted that practically all large users preferred fluid lecithin because it was easier to handle and dissolve, and added that "In commercial directories the term `lecithin'' now means soybean lecithin, and the listings for egg lecithin have disappeared."
The use of lecithin in margarine expanded dramatically in the US during the 1940s, leaping from 37.6 tonnes in 1940 to 748.8 tonnes in 1950, a 20-fold increase in one decade (Howard 1951). By 1950 large amounts of synthetic emulsifiers, such as mono- and diglycerides, had come to be used in margarine, slowing the rate of lecithin usage (Bailey 1951). At least one booklet, Hewitt''s Lecithin & Health (1957, 1978), promoted lecithin''s therapeutic and health value.
As of 1983 the largest US producers of commercial lecithin, in approximate order of market share, were Central Soya, A.E. Staley, Archer Daniels Midland, Honeymead, Riceland, and Ralston Purina. Central Soya can trace the start of its rise to industry leadership back to 1958, when it greatly expanded its line of further-processed edible and industrial soy products by leasing, then purchasing the Glidden Company''s soy lecithin business, with facilities in Chicago and Indianapolis. Included in this purchase were research facilities and a staff with broad experience in lecithin R&D. By the 1960s Central Soya had passed ADM to become America''s leading maker of (soy) lecithin. In the late 1970s Central Soya began extensive advertising of their Centrolex brand oil-free (acetone extracted) lecithin granules to the health and natural food trades. In 1981 the company introduced Centrolex granular Lecithin with Fruit & Nuts in four new combinations: Apple & Cinnamon, Carob & Coconut, Coconut & Pineapple, and Almond & Carob. These widely advertised products were delicious sprinkled on cereals, salads, yogurt, ice cream, or by the spoonful, however the public never really discovered them. By the early 1980s Central Soya produced lecithins in more than 50 product variations of liquid and granular, sold under at least nine different brand names. Centrolex granules and Centrocap, a specially processed liquid lecithin, were used as dietary supplements.
During the late 1970s a small scandal rocked the US Lecithin and health food industries. In about?? 1971 or 1972 an article appeared in Family Circle magazine about a miracle diet containing apple-cider vinegar, vitamin B-6, and lecithin. Consumers rushed to buy lecithin at health food stores and soon a shortage occurred in the industry. At that time a food distributor named Trophic International Inc. in Orem, Utah, which was no longer able to get supplies of Central Soya''s granular lecithin which they had previously carried, decide to develop new product to keep supply lines full. So in about 1972-73 they introduced a product consisting of about 60% defatted soy flour, 35% liquid lecithin, and small amounts of dolomite (rich in calcium and magnesium to balance lecithin''s high phosphorus), choline, and inositol. They labeled their product "Higher Potency 400 mg Choline Inositol Soya Lecithin Granules" and noted on the label that the lecithin was (unlike most granules) made by an "acetone free process." Because of the high content of low-cost defatted soy flour, Trophic was able *****bstantially undersell regular lecithin granules. Trophic also published a booklet, Lecithin: What you Need to Know (Ref?? yr??), in which they questioned the terminology used by regular "lecithin granules" since they were only a refined fraction of regular lecithin, the lecithin phosphatides. In 1977 an independent laboratory analyzed Trophic''s product, which by now was selling quite well. Whereas the Food Chemicals Codex (Ref??), a set of industry standards, specifies that any lecithin product must contain not less than 50.0% phosphatides and not more than 0.3% benzene-insoluble matter (such as flour), Trophic''s product was found to contain only 21.2% phosphatides and 59.9% BIM. The American Lecithin Company, Central Soya, and others protested to the FDA. On 23 November 1977 the FDA wrote Trophic a letter and insisted that they change the deceptive name of their product to "Soy Flour and Soy Lecithin Granules with Choline." This letter was followed by others on 23 February and on 31 July 1978 in which the FDA demanded compliance. The final 3-page letter spelled out 40 violations. Trophic finally complied by changing their product name to "Soy and Lecithin Granules." In 1979 a number of major articles on the controversy appeared in national magazines, including Whole Foods (Fillip 1979) and Forum (Null 1979). On the question of acetone extraction, a spokesperson from American Lecithin Co. noted that the liquid lecithin and the defatted soy flour in the Trophic product were both obtained by extraction of soybeans with hexane solvent, and that any acetone remaining in the regular granules was well below the FDA limit of 30 parts per million. "I can see no virtue of hexane over acetone," he concluded (Fillip 1979). As of 1983 the Trophic product remains on the market under its corrected label, which quelled much of the controversy. According to Al Smith, founder of Trophic International, the product continues to sell well. It is used mostly by customers who get nervous, easily upset, or disturbed--to calm their nerves (personal communication 1983).
During the late 1970s a number of other lecithin products began to be sold to the booming health and natural food trades. These included Sunrise-brand soy lecithin and a mint-flavored soy lecithin marketed by Fearn Natural Foods. In the early 1980s Canasoy introduced Soya Lecithin Spread, which was marketed to the health food trade as a non-hydrogenated margarine for those concerned with eating hydrogenated fats. The ingredients, in order of predominance, were soy oil, soy lecithin, honey, carrot oil, (for color) and sea salt. By the early 1980s, in many health food and some natural food stores, soy lecithin (usually in easy-to-use granular form) was the best-selling and best-known food derived from soybeans.
In the bigger picture, the largest uses of commercial lecithin were probably in the baking industry, the paint and coatings industry, the margarine industry, and the chocolate-candy-confectionery industry. Health food uses were an extremely small part of the total usage. The most widely used grade/variety of lecithin was the standard commercial fluid unbleached soy lecithin. Deoiled granules, sold mostly for the health food trade, comprised a small share of total output. As of 1982, when Archer Daniels Midland stopped making granular lecithin, the only firms left producing that product were Central Soya and Arkansas Grain.

 
HISTORY OF LECITHIN IN EAST ASIA
Although lecithin was first discovered and developed in Europe, it attracted interest in East Asia at a rather early date. The earliest references seen to lecithin was in 1897 when Hanai, a Japanese agricultural chemist, wrote a 4-page article in English titled "Physiological Observations on Lecithin." Soybeans were said to be a good concentrated source. The earliest known production of commercial lecithin in East Asia was in about 1923-26, when a commercial soybean processing plant was in operation at Imienpo, North Manchuria, extracting oil and phosphatides (lecithin) using the Tcherdynzev process. The oil was extracted with ethyl alcohol then the phosphatides were removed using calcium chloride (Horvath 1936; Matagrin 1939). By 1937 this or a similar product was being marketed as Soyalex. The high cost of the alcohol eventually led to its being discontinued as a solvent. In 1934 Ma and co-workers reported in a medical journal that lecithin could cure opium addiction (described above at Europe).
After the 1940s lecithin came to be widely recovered at soy oil mills and it found many food and industrial applications similar to those in the West.
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