Rheological properties of emulsion templated oleogels based on xanthan gum and different structuring agents

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Materials Science
• Colloid and Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Replacing saturated and trans fats in food products is a major health and industrial challenge.
• Oleogels offer a promising avenue for fat replacement, mimicking the structure and functionality of traditional fats.
• Emulsion templating provides a versatile method for structuring liquid oils into oleogel networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize sunflower oil-based oleogels structured using xanthan gum (XG) via an emulsion template approach.
• To evaluate the impact of different food-grade structuring agents (Tween 80, whey protein, soy lecithin, locust bean gum) on oleogel properties.
• To assess the stability and oil-binding capacity of the developed oleogels.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of oil-in-water emulsions using sunflower oil and xanthan gum (XG) as the primary gelling agent.
• Incorporation of various structuring agents: synthetic (Tween 80), protein (whey protein), lipid (soy lecithin), and polysaccharide (locust bean gum).
• Characterization of emulsion and oleogel rheological properties (viscosity, viscoelastic moduli, firmness) and oil binding capacity.

Main Results:

• Emulsions exhibited shear-thinning behavior and weak gel properties, with locust bean gum (LBG) emulsions showing higher viscosity and moduli.
• Resulting oleogels demonstrated strong gel strength and elastic behavior (G' > G''), with low tan delta values (0.06).
• Soy lecithin (SL) oleogels had the lowest firmness, while all oleogels showed high oil binding capacity (approx. 90%) after 24 hours.

Conclusions:

• Stable, solid-like oleogels can be successfully produced from liquid oil using xanthan gum (XG) and various food-grade structuring agents through emulsion templating.
• These oleogels possess desirable textural and stability properties, making them suitable for food applications.
• The developed oleogel systems hold significant potential for reformulating food products, particularly as a strategy for reducing saturated fat content.