Query about sunflower lecithin

[tim.tdj]

Hi Everyone

Does anyone here know what the chemical difference is between liquid sunflower lecithin and powdered sunflower lecithin?

Thank you very much.

Kind regards

Tim

[DrP]

I would guess that it would have something to do with molecular weight or chain length. The higher MWs being a solid powder and the lower ones being an oil... not certain though that would be my first guess.

[Silvestru]

10 minutes ago, tim.tdj said:

Hi Everyone

Does anyone here know what the chemical difference is between liquid sunflower lecithin and powdered sunflower lecithin?

Thank you very much.

Kind regards

Tim

Liquid is more fatty or oily while powder is less.

liquid = glycophospholipids

[DrP]

34 minutes ago, Silvestru said:

Liquid is more fatty or oily while powder is less.

liquid = glycophospholipids

Yea - but the chemical difference is just the length of the chains though yea?   I don't know much about lecithin so I am just assuming this based on what I know about other oligomers/short chained polymers. I would assume that if the same thing comes in both an oil and a solid that the solid has the higher MW.

[tim.tdj]

1 hour ago, DrP said:

I would guess that it would have something to do with molecular weight or chain length. The higher MWs being a solid powder and the lower ones being an oil... not certain though that would be my first guess.

 

1 hour ago, Silvestru said:

Liquid is more fatty or oily while powder is less.

liquid = glycophospholipids

 

28 minutes ago, DrP said:

Yea - but the chemical difference is just the length of the chains though yea?   I don't know much about lecithin so I am just assuming this based on what I know about other oligomers/short chained polymers. I would assume that if the same thing comes in both an oil and a solid that the solid has the higher MW.

Hi DrP and Silvestru,

Thank you very much for you replies.

Which of the two forms would you say is more healthy?

Thank you very much.

Kind regards

Tim

[DrP]

24 minutes ago, tim.tdj said:

Which of the two forms would you say is more healthy?

No idea I am afraid - you asked about the chemical difference....  I would guess at molecular weight.

Speculating....  if it is digested in the stomach then I guess it is broken down further anyway so there might not be much difference between the two with regards to nutrition.

How do you mean healthy? What does it do for the health?

 

 - reading about a bit it is used as a surfactant in foods and in eye medicine to keep the solution in contact with the eye (like a surfactant again).

I also read a lot about it being 'suspected' to help with dementia and other illnesses - but it also states that none of this is supported with any testing... in fact - testing seemed to show no improvement with dementia....  although this is just a new paper article, nothing scientific.  https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-966/lecithin

 

Edited December 5, 2018 by DrP

[Silvestru]

50 minutes ago, DrP said:

Yea - but the chemical difference is just the length of the chains though yea?   I don't know much about lecithin so I am just assuming this based on what I know about other oligomers/short chained polymers. I would assume that if the same thing comes in both an oil and a solid that the solid has the higher MW.

sorry DrP. I also am not sure but what I thought is that :

liquid = glycophospholipid - so with glucose attached

powder is just a phospholipid so without the glucose.

25 minutes ago, tim.tdj said:

Which of the two forms would you say is more healthy?

I really can;t answer this but it's easier to use the liquid version as it's harder to dissolve the powder/granules.

[Paul2reach]

It is important to realize that lecithin is a confusing name. Lecithin is often refer to the chemically more correct name phosphatidylcholine in fields like biochemistry. In food science it is often more the name for the (water-)extract obtained from for example sunflower seeds and in that case you talk about a mixture of (phospho)lipids.

Liquid lecithin is presumably liquid because it contains so-called glycophospholipids. These lipids contain more unsaturated acyl chains and behave more "oily" and cause the extract to be a liquid. Furthermore liquid lecithin contains more free fatty acids while lecithin powders contain a lower percent fat.

Presumable because of the higher content of unsaturated fatty acid acyl chains the liquid is more healthy, but relating one aspect of food (it all depends on quantity, frequency, life style and so on) to health is extremely difficult.