Maximum and minimum values for lecithin classes from various biological sources

Abstract

Lecithins from egg yolk, yeast [Saccharomyces cerevisiae], bovine lung, bovine livers, and hog livers were analyzed for the fatty acids in the [alpha] and [beta] positions after hydrolysis of the fatty acids in the [beta] position with phospholipase A. The maximum and minimum values for the 4 types of lecithins, viz. disaturated, [alpha]-saturated-[beta]-unsaturated, [alpha]-unsaturated-[beta]-saturated, and diunsaturated, were calculated for the above 5 lecithins and many more from data reported by other laboratories. Some of the results from some lecithins suggest that the fatty acids found in the a position may be randomly distributed with those found in the [beta] position.