Potential functional oleogels based on phytosterol and diacylglycerol corn oil: Development and physicochemical characterization
Min Pang, Xu Lu, Yingge Wang, Lin Liu, Lili Cao
Abstract
This study aims to create oleogels by combining beeswax (BW) and plant sterols with diacylglycerol corn oil (DGCO). The findings demonstrate that gel formation occurred with 6:4 (w/w) blends of BW with sitosterol (Sit) and β-sitosterol (PS) oils at a 20% (w/w) concentration, while BW-plant sterol ester (PE) gelled at a 15% (w/w). Texture analysis reveals that the maximum hardness of the BW-PE oleogel (582.62 N) was approximately five times higher than other oleogels and DGCO-based oleogel displayed greater hardness (52.39 N∼140.89 N) and lower viscosity (−57.06 N∼-25.94 N). The melting point of the DGCO-based oleogel increased from 48.35 °C to 57.64 °C as the BW content increased and microstructure from polarized light microscope displayed that he BW-PE oleogel presented itself as bundle-shaped crystals and with an augmentation in concentration, the dimensions of these crystals diminished while their abundance escalated. Notably, the BW-PE oleogel based on DGCO exhibited the most condensed structure. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed oleogel based on DGCO corresponding to characteristic peaks of β′and β-type crystals while the infrared spectroscopy demonstrated no new peaks formation whether for hydrogen bonds or covalent interactions in DGCO-based oleogel. These stable physical DGCO-based gel system provide a choice for the preparation of functional oleogels with lipid-lowering ingredients.