Functional oleogels constructed by short- and long-chain acyl triacylglycerols: Characterization and in vitro...

Functional short- and long-chain acyl triacylglycerols oleogels were developed using three different gelators. The mechanism of introducing short-chain fatty acids to the glycerol skeleton influencing the self-assembly of oleogels was investigated. Compared to camellia oil oleogels, the thermal stability and mechanical strength of short- and long-chain acyl triacylglycerols oleogels decreased by 1.17-1.37 J/g^-1 and 0.27-0.39 N, respectively. The crystalline sizes, distance between molecules and the final sub-cell size in short- and long-chain acyl triacylglycerols oleogels were increased, while hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions were weakened, resulting in a weak crystal network structure. Besides, free fatty acids release by short- and long-chain acyl triacylglycerols oleogels (28.83 %-64.91 %) was higher than that by camellia oil oleogels (21.01 %-55.99 %). These findings indicate that short- and long-chain acyl triacylglycerols oleogels exhibiting a weaker structure but a higher lipolysis degree, facilitated fatty acid absorption.