Home-Made Liposomal Vitamin C (and Glutathione)

[NatureAlley]

The buffered forms of ascorbic acid usually contain calcium-2+ as a counterion. Calcium ions bind strongly to the polar phosphate groups on lecithin, thereby making it impossible for the lecithin molecules to arrange themselves into liposomal bilayers. All bivalent ions will have that effect to some extent. Monovalent ions like sodium or potassium are safe. So when making liposomes with other components than vit C it pays to make sure the substance to be included does not contain calcium or magnesium.

[Reesacat]

Thank you, NatureAlley and welcome to Hawkes Health Forum!

We have a New Member's section — please introduce yourself to the forum.

[mellowsong]

TYVM for the explanation NatureAlley and welcome to the forum

[sparky]

I make liposomal vit. c using liquid sunflower lecithin. For the vit. C formula, I placed approximately 2 Tablespoons of the sunflower lecithin in a glass 2 C measuring cup. I heated 1 C of distilled water water in the microwave for a 90 sec. and added the hot water to the cup with the lecithin and stirred. The glass cup with the lecithin cooled the hot water some and I stirred considerably and it formed flakes so I added an additional cut of cold distilled water and put it in the blender which did change the appearance but there were still some chunks and flakes. I dissolved the vit. C in 1 cup of cold distilled water and added it to the blender and blended it again but there were still some flakes and chunks. I went ahead and put it into the 70 watt sonicator and ran it for 8 minutes while stirring it regularly. It came out looking like the eggnog that I had seen in a video demonstration, so it seemed to have worked well. The lecithin is sold under the label of Blue Mountain Organics and the place with the lowest price is Shamen's Market. You use about 1/3 rd of what you would granular lecithin. I am allergic to soy products so can't use them.

[sparky]

Mellow, Can you tell me what the name and brand of the "stick" blender that you used and the source of it? I suspect that it is a combination of a blade blender and a sonicator as such devices are available for the lab. I wonder how it would work for those of use using the liquid sunflower lecithin, although that worked in the bath sonicator.

[Reesacat]

I think Mellow used a stick immersion blender you get for cooking....
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, sparky!

[mellowsong]

Mellow, Can you tell me what the name and brand of the "stick" blender that you used and the source of it?

No, nothing fancy like lab equipment. It is a Kitchen Aid immersion blender with 9 speeds. Works great. I have not used the sunflower lecithin so I can't tell you about that. However, since it is liquid and phospholipids, I don't see why this method wouldn't work with that too.

[NatureAlley]

Hi Sparky,

the composition of the sunflower lecithin must differ considerably from that from soy or egg yolk, since the stuff you use is liquid and the other ones are solid at room temperature. I only have a little experience with soy lecithin.
I heat water for the solid lecithin to make a suspension. The grains take about 30 min to an hour to soak and form a mucous slurry. By this time the slurry has come down to room temperature. In my hands when making a soy lecithin "liposomal" suspension it is not so easy to make a smooth milky solution when the mix is still warm, it is much much easier when cooled.

This might even more so be the case for liquid lecithin. Have you tried cooling the water and the mix before blending?

I am not sure if this is true for sunflower lecithin, but I would assume the finished liposomal solution to be low viscosity, not like thick eggnog. Unless it is highly concentrated, perhaps. I would love to hear other members' experiences and learn from the community here.

I have a question too: does the ultrasonic device really make a difference when you have already used a high speed blender? Liposomes can be made with either device and I have the impression the process is largely complete after thorough blending. What experience do the members have?

To your health!

[Aaltrude]

NatureAlley - do you if there is any source of sunflower lecithin in New Zealand?

[NatureAlley]

Hi Aaltrude,

A quick search with Google using the keywords "sunflower lecithin new zealand" showed a couple of suppliers. One of them is http://www.livingfoodslifestyle.co.n...spx?itemid=782. But there are more hits. Good luck!

[Aaltrude]

Google obviously likes you. When I tried that search, I only got overseas sites. I might have to give it a miss though. The price is out of my range.

[Julieanne]

iherb has sunflower lecithin, but only in softgel form, not powder. You probably already searched there!

[Aaltrude]

Yep, I have searched there Julieanne and found the sunflower lecithin in softgels.

[ndtobe]

I found a sunflower lecithin to use in place of the soy, but it's not granular, it's more like a paste - think nut butter. Does anyone know if it will work? I'm not sure if the form matters.

I'm planning to use a blender and an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner (I found one that you can set for up to 30 minutes with no auto shut-off!).

The company that I bought the paste Sunflower Lecithin from (did not work) is now making a powdered form http://www.mysunflowerlecithin.com/d...n-powder-form/

Their shipping is steep, but the estimated amount of the home-made product should be substantially cheaper per unit than buying a "30 days supply" of a 1000 mg serving size of pre-made Liposomal Vit C that is being sold.

[Islander]

Thanks for that info, ndtobe, and welcome. Please go to the New Members forum and start a thread to introduce yourself. Does nd stand for naturopathic doctor?