Did You Know?
Lecithins are mixtures of glycerophospholipids including phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidic acid. It is usually available from sources such as soybeans, eggs, milk, marine sources, rapeseed, cottonseed, and sunflower. Phosphatidylcholine is the main phospholipid of cellular membranes and the natural form of the vitamin-like nutrient choline. Egg yolk lecithin contains a higher amounts of PC. Choline is the precursor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is involved in many functions including memory and muscle control. Lecithin diet modifies the cholesterol homeostasis in the liver, increasing the activity of HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase, and decreasing the microsomal ACAT activity.
Whats unique?
Lecithin has been used effectively as a delivery system for bioactive compounds in nutraceuticals to enhance their absorption. Lecithin based drug delivery systems are also used to enhance therapeutic efficacy.
Tales of the Past
The term “lecithin” which is derived from the Greek lekithos was first used to describe a sticky orange material isolated from egg yolk. Lecithin was first isolated from egg yolk in 1846 by the French chemist and pharmacist Theodore Gobley.It was the first specific phospholipid to be recognized. He had repeated all the egg yolk experiments with brain matter of chicken, sheep, and humans and had found the same fatty acids in the ‘viscous matter’ extracted from those sources as in egg yolk. In further work, he identified this new entity also in various biological fluids like blood (i.e., in the erythrocytes), in bile, and even in the tissues of some lowly invertebrates, such as the sea nettle, the starfish, the sea urchin, medusa, and the sea anemone. Gobley deduced that the choline in bile arose through the double decomposition of lecithin. He also deduced the structure of lecithin.After 20 years, choline component in lecithin was determined.
Application in Different Health Categories
Liver Health, Brain Health, Heart Health, etc
Regulatory Status
FSSAI, FDA, Health Canada, EFSA, FSANZ approved
Different Dosage Formats
Capsules, powders, tablets, granules, liquids, etc
References
1.Amouni Mohamed Mourad, Eder de Carvalho Pincinato, Priscila Gava Mazzola, Maricene Sabha, and Patricia Moriel. Influence of Soy Lecithin Administration on Hypercholesterolemia. Cholesterol. 2010; 2010: 824813.
2.Margret I. Moré,corresponding author Ulla Freitas, and David Rutenberg.Positive Effects of Soy Lecithin-Derived Phosphatidylserine plus Phosphatidic Acid on Memory, Cognition, Daily Functioning, and Mood in Elderly Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. Adv Ther. 2014; 31: 1247–1262.
3.Jill L Sherriff, Therese A O’Sullivan,Catherine Properzi, Josephine-Lee Oddo,and Leon A Adams. Choline, Its Potential Role in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and the Case for Human and Bacterial Genes. Adv Nutr. 2016 Jan; 7(1): 5–13.