Optimization of the liquid–liquid extraction of phosphatidyl-choline from rapeseed oil gums by response surface methodology

Separation of the phosphatidyl-choline (PC) from complex phospholipids is a difficult task that has become a bottleneck in industrial production. The extraction of PC from rapeseed oil gums has been studied by liquid–liquid extraction with methanol–water/n-hexane. Crude PC parted from the pretreatment rapeseed oil gums with ethanol was used as the raw material to prepare high purity PC using liquid–liquid extraction. The variables of the extraction process were investigated with a response surface methodology design. The optimum medium composition was found to be: n-hexane–methanol–water ratio 0.98:1:0.068 (v/v/v), methanol to raw materials ratio 6.57 (v/m), 45 °C, 40 min. At these optimum extraction parameters, the PC (purity: 72.6%, recovery: 40.0%) obtained was close to its predicted value. The results indicated that the liquid–liquid extraction was an effective method for the purification of PC from the complex phospholipids.

► Extraction of PC from the pretreatment rapeseed oil gums has been studied by liquid–liquid extraction with methanol–water/n-hexane.
► The variables of the extraction process were investigated with a response surface methodology design.
► Under the optimum condition, the purity and the recovery rate of PC were 72.6% and 40.0%, respectively.
► Liquid–liquid extraction can be an effective method for the purification of PC from the complex phospholipids.