AbstractBACKGROUNDIn this study the effects of processing conditions of acid degumming and enzymatic degumming on the removal of phospholipids from Silybum marianum seed oil were investigated and the degumming efficiency was compared based on the phospholipid content.RESULTSAn orthogonal array experimental design was performed to optimise the process of citric acid degumming. Based on range analysis and analysis of variance, the optimal processing conditions were determined to be a citric acid dosage of 3 g kg−1, a degumming temperature of 70 °C, a water addition of 40 mL kg‐1 and a degumming time of 30 min. Under these conditions the phospholipid content of degummed S. marianum seed oil was reduced from 273.0 to 128.1 mg kg−1. In the case of enzymatic degumming, the effects of enzyme reaction time and enzyme dosage were investigated using single‐factor experiments. The optimal processing conditions were found to be an enzyme reaction time of 6 h and an enzyme dosage of 100 mg kg−1 oil. Under these conditions the phospholipid content of degummed S. marianum seed oil was reduced to 17.95 mg kg−1.CONCLUSIONThe results indicated that enzymatic degumming is more effective than acid degumming. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry