Phenomenon of Lecithin: Science - Technology - Applications

This book is dedicated to one of the most versatile and fascinating naturally occurring substances: Phenomenon of Lecithin – Science, Technology and Applications.

The outstanding and versatile properties of phospholipids have been examined and described time and again in recent decades by many scientists. An update to the scientific basis is now necessary on account of the growing importance of lecithin. The publishing team centred around Waldemar Buxmann, Head of Technical Department at Sternchemie in Hamburg, has succeeded in engaging 24 notable international scientists and experts from eight countries for the book.

Lecithins are mixtures of polar lipids (phospholipids) and are natural components of the cell membrane of animal and plant organisms, where they perform essential functions. The amphiphilic structure of the phospholipids gives them their unique emulsifying and dispersing properties. Besides the widespread plant-derived lecithins from soya beans, sunflower and rapeseed, lecithins from animal sources such as eggs, milk and marine life are on the rise. Their wide-ranging uses in food, animal feed, dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and in the technology industry are unique.

The printed work has 550 pages and is a comprehensive and up-to-date reference book for chemists, biologists, technologists, pharmacists and purchasers of lecithin. It is the result of many years of work and has been constantly updated. In addition to the fascinating 170-year history of lecithin, the global production and processing quantities in a wide range of industries are also explored for the first time. The theoretical principles – the chemical, physiological and physical properties of phospholipids – form the basis for the understanding of the book. The practical section examines the origins, production, processing and modification of lecithin as well as quality control, which is a very important part of the production process. The subsequent descriptions of the numerous applications for lecithin make up the core of the book.

The authors are confident that the deeper insight into this incomparable substance will inspire young scientists and chemists to conduct further intensive research into phospholipids.

Dr Waldemar Buxmann

Dr Waldemar Buxmann graduated in food technology at the University of Bonn and subsequently prepared his doctoral thesis on the techno-functional properties of egg phospholipids at the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL e.V.) Quakenbrück, Germany in collaboration with the Technical University of Berlin. During his time as a research associate in the research platform on Food Structure and Functionality at the DIL, he headed several publicly funded research projects focussing on lecithin and phospholipids.

In 2012 he took the step into the food industry by joining Sternchemie, the lecithin producing company within the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe in Hamburg. He is currently head of the technical department at Sternchemie. His interests are lecithin and phospholipids, product and process development and applications of lecithin in food.

Rüdiger Ziegelitz

After leaving school in 1948, Rüdiger Ziegelitz initially trained as a chemical laboratory assistant from 1948 to 1951. From 1955 to 1959 he attended the Evening Technical College in Hamburg, where he qualified as a chemical technologist. From his initial training until 1995, Rüdiger Ziegelitz was employed by Dr Meyer-Castens & Co. GmbH, Hamburg (subsequently Lucas Meyer), where he later held general commercial power of attorney. From 1980 he was a managing director responsible for product control, applications of lecithin products (including customer advice), development of new products, process technology for the production of oil-free phospholipids, fractionation of phospholipids and enzymatic modification, and also processing of soy proteins and their applications in food and feed. He organized phospholipid symposiums in 1986,1989 and 1993 and the first and second Hamburg Soy Conferences in 1986 and 1991. From 1995 until 2015 he acted as a free-lance consultant to the Stern-Wywiol-Gruppe.

Parris Kidd

Dr Parris M. Kidd was born in Jamaica, earned his Bachelor degree in zoology at the University of the West Indies, then acquired his doctorate in zoology – cell biology at the University of California in Berkeley. He was a research investigator at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center until entering integrative medicine with a textbook on nutritional antioxidants. He was the leading scientist in establishing the phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS) as a brain nutrient on five continents. He is recognized internationally for his expertise on the nutritional applications of lecithins, phospholipids, omega-3 fatty acids, carotenoids, and other nutrient classes. Dr Kidd now focuses on the use of nutritional medicine to improve memory and other mental performance. He is currently Chief Science Officer for BrainMD of Irvine, California, USA.

Volkmar Wywiol

Volkmar Wywiol, born in 1935, has been closely associated with the products lecithin and phospholipids for over 65 years. As a long-standing employee and subsequent managing director of the Hamburg company "Lucas Meyer – The Lecithin People" he was among the pioneers of the worldwide development and marketing of lecithin.

In 1980 Volkmar Wywiol ventured into business on his own with Sternchemie. Together with the oil mill group and the leading American lecithin producer Central Soya (acquired by DuPont, today IFF) he later established the joint venture Stern-Lecithin & Soja. In the 1990s, this company grew to become Europe’s leading supplier of lecithin, with a broad basis of applications research, acknowledged lecithin experts and a modern tank farm and processing facility in Rotterdam.

From 2000, Volkmar Wywiol extended the product range of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe by purchasing and establishing further companies in the field of food ingredients and feed additives. These included Berg+Schmidt, Hydrosol, Planteneers, Mühlenchemie, DeutscheBack, SternVitamin, SternLife, SternEnzym, Herza Schokolade, SternMaid and OlbrichtArom. With 12 specialist ingredient firms in Germany and 18 affiliates abroad, the owner-managed Group is now one of the world’s most competent developers and manufacturers of customized functional ingredients for food and feed.

In 2020, Volkmar Wywiol received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Mayor of Hamburg.