Where does lecithin come from?

After asking what lecithin is, you want to know where it is found. Lecithin that contains phosphatidyl choline is produced mainly from vegetable sources, although it may also be found in animal and microbial sources. Majority of commercial lecithins sold in the market today come from soybean (mostly), sunflower, and grape seed. When talking about plant lecithins, the most common source is soybean.

When Maurice Gobley, the French scientist discoverer of lecithin, found lecithin in egg yolk in 1950, egg yolk was the sole source of lecithin used by the commercial food industry. However, by the 1930s, the time when soybean lecithin was discovered, egg yolk no longer held its former place of being the major source of lecithin for commercial use. Today, it is not even a major source of lecithin in nutritional supplements. The reason may be that lecithins that come from plants are GRAS or generally regarded as safe.

Where does lecithin come from?