Tailoring Properties of Mixed-Component Oleogels: Wax and Monoglyceride Interactions Towards Flaxseed Oil Structuring

The combination of oleogelators in oil structuring has an untapped potential, since effective pairs have usually been found by serendipity. The aim of this work was to evaluate the combination of berry (BEW) or sunflower wax (SHW) with glycerol monostearate (GMS) in flaxseed oil (FXO) at 5 and 25 °C. The thermal and mechanical properties, microstructure, and stability of oleogels were investigated. Self-standing and translucent gels were obtained from BEW in FXO. However, the mixture BEW:GMS resulted in a decrease of dynamic moduli. Moreover, changes in the crystal network and a reduction of oil binding capacity were noticed. Thus, the GMS prevented the complete organization of BEW in polyunsaturated chains of FXO. Conversely, a positive interaction was found for GMS:SHW, since both alone were not able to impart the structure in FXO. Interestingly, gel was formed with improved properties, even with a small addition of GMS, although an ideal ratio of 1:1 (GMS50:50SHW) was found. Oxidative stability analysis showed that all gels resembled the behavior of liquid oil (~12.00 meqO₂/kg) over 30 days storage. Therefore, semi-solid systems with nutritional and techno-functional claims were created by using waxes and fatty-acid derivative oleogelator in a rational fashion; this opened the opportunity to tailor oleogel properties.