Phospholipid composition and emulsifying properties of rice bran lecithin from enzymatic degumming

The phospholipid composition and emulsifying properties of rice bran lecithin recovered from enzymatic degumming catalyzed by phospholipase A(1) (PLA(1)) were investigated and comparing to those from citric acid and water degumming. Rice bran lecithin from enzymatic degumming (BLED) had a different phospholipid composition compared with that from water and citric acid degumming, with a particularly high lysophospholipid concentration. Meanwhile, PLA(1) showed hydrolysis selectivity for phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, but almost no selectivity for phosphatidylinositol. RLED provided better emulsion stability compared with rice bran lecithin from citric acid degumming (RLCD) and water degumming (RLWD). BLED-stabilized emulsions exhibited smaller particle sizes when deionized water or phosphate buffer were used as the aqueous phase, compared with RLCD and RLWD-stabilized emulsions. BLED, RLCD, and RLWD-stabilized emulsions had similar shear stresses when using phosphate buffer as the aqueous phase, and lower shear stresses when using deionized water. Furthermore, the apparent viscosity was higher when using phosphate buffer as the aqueous phase. Meanwhile, the microstructure of rice bran lecithin-stabilized emulsions corresponded with their particle size distribution and viscosity. This information will help food industry to evaluate the potential applications of BLED.