Abstract
Consumer demand for high protein content and plant-based fat has necessitated novel approaches to healthy food products. In response to this need, oleogels (OG) (structured liquid oils) emerged as a possible means of not only replacing saturated and trans fats but also delivering food protein. Nevertheless, an in-depth view of the structure of networks made of OG and protein is deficient. Hence, the objective of this study is developing oleocolloid (OC) (whey protein and rice bran wax OG) and hydro-oleocolloid (HOC) (OC + water) matrices with varying protein content (2.5–7.5%) to characterize their structural properties. Thermal analysis of the matrices via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) documented the effects of hydrophobic interactions on the protein structure and its stability. Whey protein denaturation temperature increased from 74.9 °C to 102.8 °C in the presence of high oleic soybean oil. The effects of vegetable oil on WPI structure was also verified by FTIR spectroscopy. Data analysis revealed slight structural changes of the WPI secondary structure in the hydrophobic oil medium and the α-helix and β-sheet proportion in the emulsion medium was significantly altered. Similar analysis was performed in OC and HOC networks to quantify possible interactions between protein and rice bran wax. Results indicated that the protein was denatured during the thermal and mechanical conditions required for the oleogelation process, while it did not affect the systems’ solid fat content (SFC) and polymorphic patterns of the oleogels. However, DSC analysis showed different onset of melting for OC and HOC samples due to colloidal interactions between the protein and the lipid phase. The role of these chemistry was confirmed by microscopy analyses where OC and HOC matrices displayed notably different microstructural properties. The observed differences in the structural properties between OC and HOC matrices indicate the different colloidal interactions mediated by oleogelation process and the liquid medium type (oil vs. emulsion).
Highlights
Over the past decades, oleogelation technology has emerged as a promising technology to replace hardstock fats
Results indicated that the protein was denatured during the thermal and mechanical conditions required for the oleogelation process, while it did not affect the systems’ solid fat content (SFC) and polymorphic patterns of the oleogels
These results indicated that both ∆H and SFC values of the OG and OC systems showed a linear relationship with the amount of rice bran wax
Summary
Oleogelation technology has emerged as a promising technology to replace hardstock fats. Numerous OGs have been formed with different combinations of liquid oils and organogelators in order to mimic textural attributes of saturated fats [3,4,5]. Many studies have incorporated OGs in food products including cookie, sausage, ice cream, frankfurters, and cream cheese [6,7,8,9,10,11]. These studies have documented that OGs could provide similar textural attributes to saturated fats and enhance nutritional profiles [6,8,9].
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