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Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels

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A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Chemistry and Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2024 | Viewed by 14507

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vlad Mureşan

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Guest Editor

Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: lipid and oilseeds technology; infrared spectroscopy; chemometrics; lipid oxidation; confectionery technology; food texture and rheology; food technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Andreea Puşcaş

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Guest Editor

Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: food processing and engineering; food quality; food engineering; food texture and rheology lipid and oilseeds technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Oleogelation and organogel formation emerged as techniques for reducing the amount of unhealthy fats in foods, due to the recommendations of lowering the intake of unhealthy fats and concerns related to the increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or obesity, occurring from the consumption of processed products. Despite the oleogel’s high variety, structural functionality, and other positive outcomes which are continuously revealed by researchers, the industry has not seen the feasibility of their usage as ingredients in designing healthier products. Thus, more research related to the possibility of the delivery of biologically active compounds and health-related implications of oleogels and organogels is needed, which will be the motivation for including these systems in foods or nutraceutical products. However, some shortcomings such as the oxidation of oils through the direct method of oleogel production, the sensitivity of some structuring agents towards water or other ingredients, and physical factors such as pH should be further analyzed to broaden the application of oleogels in foods. Multicomponent oleogels were also proposed to overcome these aspects or simply to increase the functionality of the oleogel, yet the possibilities of designing oleogels are so vast and not fully explored. It was also demonstrated that oleogels are influenced by both the structuring agent or oil composition, or even by their interaction; thus, these aspects should be taken into consideration in the designing of novel oleogels. Moreover, the interaction of oleogels or of the synergistic structuring agents with other compounds present in the food matrix, along with the influence of external factors implied in food processing operations (homogenization, thermal treatments, extrusion, aeration, vacuum evaporation, freeze-drying, microwave treatment, irradiation, freeze thaw cycles, etc.) should be determined.

We invite you to submit your work representing the recent progress related to oleogelation and organogels to this Special Issue, to ensure the transition of these systems from the laboratories to industrial production.

Dr. Vlad Mureşan
Dr. Andreea Puşcaş
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

multicomponent oleogels
bioactive compounds
design algorithms
oxidation
synergistic interactions

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of the Oil Structuring System on Lipid Hydrolysis and Bioaccessibility of Healthy Fatty Acids and Curcumin

by Susana Cofrades, Joaquín Gómez-Estaca, María Dolores Álvarez, Alba Garcimartín, Adrián Macho-González, Juana Benedí and Tatiana Pintado

Gels 2024, 10(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10010033 - 30 Dec 2023

Viewed by 948

Abstract

Oleogels (OG) and gelled emulsions (GE) were elaborated with a mixture of olive and chia oils (80:20 ratio) without and with the incorporation of the health-related compound curcumin. These were studied to evaluate the influence of the oil structuring system on the lipid hydrolysis and bioaccessibility of three healthy fatty acids (FA) (palmitic, oleic, and α-linolenic acids) and of curcumin, compared to the oil mixture (bulk oil, BO). The oil structuring system influenced the firmness and texture, and the presence of curcumin significantly altered the color parameters. GE showed higher lipid digestibility, with a greater proportion of absorbable fraction (higher content of free FA and monoacylglycerides) than OG, which behaved similarly to BO. The presence of curcumin affected the degree of lipolysis, reducing lipid digestibility in OG and increasing it in GE. As for FA bioaccessibility, although GE presented higher percentages overall, curcumin significantly increased and decreased FA bioaccessibility in OG and GE, respectively. The oil structuring system also influenced the bioaccessibility of curcumin, which was higher in GE. Therefore, when selecting an oil structuring system, their physicochemical properties, the degree of lipid hydrolysis, and the bioaccessibility of both curcumin and the FA studied should all be considered. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels)

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12 pages, 1791 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bigels as Delivery Systems of Bioactive Fatty Acids Present in Functional Edible Oils: Coconut, Avocado, and Pomegranate

by Manuela Machado, Sérgio Cruz Sousa, Luís Miguel Rodríguez-Alcalá, Manuela Pintado and Ana Maria Gomes

Gels 2023, 9(4), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9040349 - 21 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1518

Abstract

Bioactive fatty acids possess several benefits for human health; however, these molecules show a reduced oxidative stability and consequently reduced bioavailability. This work aimed to develop novel bigels as a strategy to protect bioactive fatty acids present in three different vegetable oils with nutritional attributes (coconut oil, avocado oil, and pomegranate oil) during passage through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Bigels were prepared using monoglycerides-vegetable oil oleogel and carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel. These bigels were analyzed in terms of structure and rheological characteristics. According to the rheological properties, bigels exhibited a solid-like behavior since G’ was higher than G”. The results showed that the proportion of oleogel was essential to the viscosity of the final formulation as an increase in this fraction was responsible for an increase in viscosity. The fatty acids profile was evaluated before and after simulated GIT. The bigels protected the fatty acids against degradation; in the case of coconut oil, the reduction of key fatty acids was 3 times lower; for avocado oil, 2 times lower; and for pomegranate oil, 1.7 times lower. These results suggest that bigels can be used as part of an important strategy for bioactive fatty acid delivery for food applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels)

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15 pages, 3631 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physicochemical Properties and Cookie-Making Performance as Fat Replacer of Wax-Based Rice Bran Oil Oleogels

by Min Pang, Shengmei Kang, Lin Liu, Tengfei Ma, Zhi Zheng and Lili Cao

Gels 2023, 9(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9010013 - 26 Dec 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2237

Abstract

Reducing the intake of trans and saturated fatty acids is a trend in healthy eating. In this study, the oleogels were prepared from rice bran oil (RBO), candle wax (CDW), beeswax (BW), rice bran wax (RBW), and carnauba wax (CRW), respectively, and the results based on their physicochemical properties and crystal structures at critical concentrations, 6 wt.%, 8 wt.%, and 10 wt.%, were determined to further investigate the oleogels as a shortening substitute in cookie recipes. Oleogel has a smooth, spreadable β′ crystal shape which creates excellent sensory properties and improves the texture, but also has some economic benefits. A comparison between the oleogels formed at critical concentrations and those with improved mass fractions was performed in several analyses such as PLM and texture, and the oleogels with higher mass fractions had a greater hardness and stickiness and denser crystal structures. This study was used to optimize the cookie recipe by partially replacing shortening with oleogel and preparing the cookies according to the 0:1, 3:7, 1:1, 7:3, 1:0 oleogel shortening mixture, respectively. Based on the results of the textural analysis, a colorimetric and sensory evaluation of the optimized formulation of oleogels in cookies, it was evident that BW and RBW oleogels have more potential to replace shortening in cookies than CDW and CRW oleogels. In particular, oleogels with a concentration of 6 wt.% RBW (RBW-6) and at a 7:3 (oleogel:shortening) shortening replacement exhibited a hardness and crispness of 15.75 N and 97.73 g, respectively, with an L* value of 66.66 and a sensory score of 22.32 ± 0.09. The value for the color perception difference (dE) between the cookies and the control group was −3.73, which allowed us to obtain a good product with a quality and characteristics similar to shortening. This supports the feasibility of new solid fats to replace traditional plastic fats in baked goods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels)

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19 pages, 6864 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Chincho (Tagetes elliptica Sm.) Essential Oil Organogel Nanoparticles through Ionic Gelation and Process Optimization with Box–Behnken Design

by Francis Cerrón-Mercado, Bettit K. Salva-Ruíz, Diana Nolazco-Cama, Clara Espinoza-Silva, Juana Fernández-López, Jose A. Pérez-Alvarez and Manuel Viuda-Martos

Gels 2022, 8(12), 815; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8120815 - 11 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1649

Abstract

The aim of this work was to obtain chitosan nanoparticles (<1000 nm) with chincho (Tagetes elliptica Sp.) essential oil (CEO-CSNPs) using the ionic gelation method. A Box–Behnken design (BBD) was applied, using chitosan solution (CS) pH (4.0, 4.4, 4.8); the mass ratio of CS/CEO (1:0.7, 1:0.85, 1:1.0) and the mass ratio of CS/CS-tripolyphosphate (1:0.46, 1:0.58, 1:0.7) as independent variables. The formulation-dependent variables, encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC) of the CEO-CSNPs were evaluated. BBD determined that optimal conditions for CEO-CSNPs were pH: 4.4, CS/CEO mass ratio 1:0.7 and CS/TPP mass ratio 1:0.46. Once the optimization was defined, particle size (PS), zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index (PDI), CEO-CSNPs morphological studies, in vitro CEO release, and antibacterial activity were determined. The CEO-CSNPs showed an EE of 52.64% and a LC of 11.56%, with a diameter of 458.5 nm, with a ZP of 23.30mV, and a PDI of 0.418. The SEM studies showed that the nanoparticles were rounded and had uniform shapes. In addition, CEO-CSNPs showed a minimum inhibitory concentration against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella infantis and Escherichia coli of 5.29, 10.57 and 10.57 µg/mL, respectively. These results could be very useful for the stabilization of chincho essential oil for food industry purposes. However, several studies about the release, as well as interaction with food matrices, will be necessary. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels)

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17 pages, 7712 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Feasibility of Shellac Wax Emulsion Oleogels as Low-Fat Spreads Analyzed by Means of Multidimensional Statistical Analysis

by Andreea Puşcaş and Vlad Mureşan

Gels 2022, 8(11), 749; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8110749 - 18 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1678

Abstract

Shellac wax-based oleogel emulsions were studied with a three level two factorial design in order to find an optimal formulation for a spread formulation. Rheological, textural, colorimetry, and stability analysis were conducted to assess the performance of oleogel emulsions. FTIR spectra were also compared. The similarities between the samples were studied using cluster analysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrates that (i) the texture is influenced by the wax concentration, (ii) the rheology and stability by both the considered numeric factors (wax and water concentration) and their interaction, and (iii) the color by both factors. The emulsions containing 7% (m/m) shellac oleogels behaved like the strongest systems, (G′ & G_LVR > 30,000 Pa) and exhibited the highest value of the G′-G″ cross-over. The lowest oil binding capacity (OBC) was 99.88% for the sample with 3% (m/m) shellac and 20% (m/m) water. The whiteness index (Windex) varied between 58.12 and 78.50. The optimization process indicated that a formulation based on 4.29% (m/m) shellac wax and 24.13% (m/m) water was suitable as a low-fat spread. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels)

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15 pages, 5478 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gel Properties and Formation Mechanism of Camellia Oil Body-Based Oleogel Improved by Camellia Saponin

by Jing Liu, Lili Hu, Yaqing Xiao, Yingnan Liu, Songnan Li, Mingming Zheng, Zhenyu Yu, Kang Liu and Yibin Zhou

Gels 2022, 8(8), 499; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8080499 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2064

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of camellia saponin (CS) on the structural characteristics, texture properties, rheological properties, and thermal stability of camellia oil body-based oleogel (COBO). In addition, the formation mechanism of COBO was further studied in terms of the microstructure and texture of freeze-dried products, the mobility of hydrogen protons, and the conformation and structure changes of oleosin. The texture and rheological properties of the oleogels were found to be gradually improved with the incorporation of CS. This was attributed to the CS-induced enhancement of oil body interfacial film. CS was likely to bind to oleosin via hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, thereby forming a thick CS-oleosin complex interface, which was revealed by the oleosin fluorescence quenching and an increase in the ordered structure (α-helix). The composite interface could resist the crystallization damage and air disturbance caused by solidification and sublimation of water during freeze-drying, resulting in a denser and more uniform three-dimensional gel structure to trap the liquid oil, which could be explained by the decreased mobility of hydrogen protons in oleogel. The work offers a new proposal and theoretical basis for the development of saponin-enhanced oleogels using non-thermal processing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels)

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Review

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42 pages, 5552 KiB

Open AccessReview

Food-Grade Oleogels: Trends in Analysis, Characterization, and Applicability

by Simona Perța-Crișan, Claudiu-Ștefan Ursachi, Bianca-Denisa Chereji, Iolanda Tolan and Florentina-Daniela Munteanu

Gels 2023, 9(5), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9050386 - 06 May 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3462

Abstract

Currently, a large number of scientific articles can be found in the research literature in the field focusing on the use of oleogels for food formulation to improve their nutritional properties. The present review focuses on the most representative food-grade oleogels, highlighting current trends in terms of the most suitable methods of analysis and characterization, as well as trends in their application as substitutes for saturated and trans fats in foods. For this purpose, the physicochemical properties, structure, and composition of some oleogelators are primarily discussed, along with the adequacy of oleogel incorporation for use in edible products. Analysis and characterization of oleogels by different methods are important in the formulation of innovative foods, and therefore, this review discusses the most recent published results regarding their microstructure, rheological and textural properties, and oxidative stability. Last but not least, issues related to the sensory properties of oleogel-based foods are discussed, highlighting also the consumer acceptability of some of them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Oleogels and Organogels)

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