Now Foods Lecithin

NOW Non-GMO Lecithin Softgels contain 15% Phosphatidyl Choline, which comprises a major portion of our brain and nervous system. NOW Foods Lecithin is also a source of essential fatty acids, Choline and Inositol. NOW Foods Lecithin aids in emulsifying fats, enabling them to be dispersed in water.

• Nervous System Support
• Non-GMO - 1200 mg
• Supports Brain & Nerve Function
• High in Phosphatidyl Choline

Lecithin is the most common natural phospholipid that is found in many animal tissues and organs as an important constituent of biological membranes. It is also widespread in the plant world and abundant in legumes, cereals and seed embryos. Vegetable lecithin is the main constituent of commercially available sources, in which the majority of lecithin is derived from soybeans. Lecithin's biological and physiological properties make it useful in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics fields. Moreover, it widely used for a dietary supplement to aid in memory and cognitive function, cardiovascular health and liver function.

Lecithin from soybean sources is a complex mixture of phosphatides that contains mainly of Phosphatidylcholine (PC), Phosphatidyethanilamine (PE) and Phosphatidylinositol (PI) with minor amount of Phosphatidic acid (PA), Phosphatidylserine (PS), and corresponding lysophosphatidyl derivatives (LPC, LPE, LPI, and LPS). Neutral lipids, free fatty acids, carbohydrates and other components are also present in soy lecithin. High-purity PC and PE, the fraction products of phospholipids, were extensively applied in the fields of nourishment, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Among PC, PE and other phosphatides, PC is one of important active ingredients, which acts as a vehicle for essential fatty acids to promote metabolism through the cell membrane. Research has shown that Phosphatidylcholine is beneficial in depression, memory loss and neurological disorders.

The composition of lecithin is largely dependent on lecithin source and degree of purification. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining lecithin PC and PE of sufficient purity, it is important to develop rapid and effective analytical methods for the purpose of quality control and to discover any commercial frauds. HPLC technique has been widely used to develop selective and specific assays, which are required by current pharmaceutical regulations. HPLC analysis of lipids is a comparatively less developed field of application of this technique. American Oil Chemistry Organization (AOCS) established an HPLC method to determine PC, PE and PI in Lecithin by HPLC, which is validated and mostly performed for analysis lecithin. This HPLC method allows separation between different classes of lipids and between individual compounds within a certain class.

NOW Foods carries variety of lecithin products, including Lecithin powder, granule and softgel. To ensure the quality of these products, we have developed HPLC method based on official AOCS method to validate analytical procedure for testing PC, PE and PI. This analytical method is accurate, efficient and simultaneous to determine typical levels of various phosphatidylcholine compounds to ensure the quality of our lecithin products.

NOW's Mission
The NOW mission is - To provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. NOW Foods is an award-winning and highly respected manufacturer of vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements and natural foods.

In 1948, with the natural food and supplement industry in its infancy, entrepreneur Paul Richard paid $900 for the purchase of Fearn Soya Foods—a Chicago based manufacturer of grain and legume-based products. This began a six-decade legacy of providing health-seeking consumers with high-quality, affordable nutrition products.

History of NOW
In 1968, NOW Foods was founded under the belief that good health was not a luxury available only to the wealthy. For the past forty years, NOW has made it their life's work to offer health food and nutritional supplements of the highest quality, at prices that are fair and affordable to all those who seek them. Today, NOW Foods is one of the top-selling brands in health foods stores, an award-winning manufacturer, a respected advocate of the natural product industry, and a leader in the fields of nutritional science and methods development. And while NOW has grown considerably over the past four decades, one thing has never changed – NOW's commitment to providing products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

NOW Commitments

• Customer Focused and Information Driven - NOW believes that their products, services, and the decisions they make should be primarily influenced by the desires and needs of NOW customers. The decisions that NOW makes should be based on accurate information and therefore NOW places a high value on knowledge and learning within their organization.
• Quality and Value Oriented - Acting in the best interest of NOW customers, NOW endeavors to produce the highest quality products at competitive prices. NOW's first priority is to maintain quality where it counts the most – in the products. NOW's exceptional cost-conscious team of employees then focuses their energies on driving costs down. Nurturing this competency of value drives NOW's ability to provide high quality products at the very best prices.
• Natural is Better - NOW is convinced that natural products are better than their synthetic counterparts and produce better results in human health. Therefore, wherever possible, NOW strives to provide products that contain natural ingredients because they are better for their customers.

NOW Science
NOW's experienced professional and technical staff formulates their products to be of the highest quality. NOW has a group of biochemists, chemists, nutritionists, and food technologists who review current science and nutritional parameters, and formulate our products to be effective for the intended use. NOW's structure/function claims are based on science for active ingredients, and on nutritional science for nutritional content. Serving sizes are based on doses from clinical studies and other published data. NOW's contemporary formulas are designed to meet the health and wellness needs of today’s consumers. NOW uses ingredients that have been tested for effectiveness in clinical trials and laboratory studies. The heart of NOW science is third party independent research. NOW investigates and review clinical studies and other lab studies conducted on their ingredients and their formulas. Best science is used to support best formulations which lead to best quality. NOW products are constantly being tested in clinical trials conducted at top universities and research centers around the country and in various parts of the world. NOW products are being tested to determine such things as effectiveness for joint support, quality of life for cancer patients, cardiovascular support, and athletic endurance. Effective products mean health and wellness benefits, which mean quality.

GMP Quality Assured
NOW’s GMP certification covers standard operating procedures, employee training, product specifications, expiration dating, vendor certifications and much more. Standard operating procedures include sampling and testing incoming materials according to NOW Foods specifications, inspecting manufacturing processes, and testing finished products to specifications. Tests include organoleptic evaluation (human senses such as sight, taste, smell), physical testing of tablets and capsules, chemical identity of ingredients, potency and contamination testing by the company’s in-house state-of-the-art analytical testing lab, as well as microbiological testing by NOW Foods’ in-house rapid analysis microbiological lab.