Abstract: It has been discovered that phosphatides contain certain carbohydrates which adversely affect their functional properties. By hydrolyzing such carbohydrates with an effective amount of carbohydrase, the physical and functional properties of such phosphatides are significantly improved. In the manufacture of lecithin, wet gums enzymatically treated with carbohydrases dehydrate more rapidly into a low moisture lecithin product. The enzymatic treatment also fluidizes phosphatide compositions and stabilizes the compositions against solidification.

Abstract: A method of recovering a high-grade lecithin and solvents from an oil-bearing full miscella which also contains lecithin and which results from an oilseed ternary solvent extraction process. The method may include a first step of phase separation of the oil-bearing miscella containing lecithin and the ternary solvents into a polar and a non-polar phase, and a second step of azeotropic distillation of the non-polar phase to recover a portion of the solvents, and to remove substantially all the water from the residual crude oil, thereby keeping the lecithin in solution. A commercial grade lecithin having good water dispersibility is subsequently recovered from the residual crude oil, and a small amount of highly water dispersible lecithin may be recovered from the polar phase by atmospheric distillation.