Premium
A review of lecithin chemistry and glandless cottonseed as a potential commercial source
Author(s) -
Cherry J. P.,
Gray M. S.,
Jones L. A.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/bf02659656
Subject(s) - lecithin , chemistry , cottonseed , gossypol , fractionation , food science , sunflower oil , chromatography , sunflower , organic chemistry , biochemistry , mathematics , combinatorics
Abstract Industrial lecithin can be fractionated as phospholipids and glycolipids after neutral lipids and protein‐containing contaminants are removed. The polar lipids are very reactive and are difficult to extract and purify from oilseeds. Their purity and special properties can be improved by a number of methods including solvent fractionation, hydrogenation, sulfonation, and ethoxylation. Studies are determining the role of the polar lipids of lecithin in (a) the synthesis of triglycerides in maturing seeds, (b) the structure of biological membranes, and (c) the molecular basis of the functionality of food ingredients. Lecithin, having both polar and nonpolar groups, has high surface activity and is reactive with both oil and protein, making it an excellent emulsifying agent in food systems; lecithin also slows autoxidation and enzyme hydrolysis of fats. Cottonseed lecithin is low in linolenic acid, prevents flavor deterioration of soybean oil and can be used to stabilize sunflower oil against color change during high temperature use. Gossypol binds to lecithin in oil from glanded cottonseed economically negating it as a commercial source of this product. New cultivars producing glandless, or gossypol‐free cottonseed, may have potential as commercial sources of edible lecithin.