Environmentally Friendly Bionanocomposites in Food Industry

Petroleum-based (fossil fuel-based) materials found versatile applications in human life. However, there are rising concerns over the use of petroleum-based products such as their adverse effects on the environment and human and animal health. In recent years, there is a mounting interest in developing bio-based materials as alternative sources for petroleum-based (fossil fuel-based) chemicals to protect the environment as well as the well-being of humans and animals.</p

Optimization of the production of structured lipid by enzymatic interesterification from coconut (Cocos nucifera) oil and sesame (Sesamum indicum) oil using Response Surface Methodology

Blends of coconut (Cocos nucifera) oil and sesame (Sesamum indicum) oil were enzymatically interesterified using aqueous lipase derived from Rhizomucor miehei and the reaction conditions, namely, temperature (45–65 °C), time (16–48 h) and mass ratio of oils (CO:SO; 70:30–50:50) were optimized using Response Surface Methodology (three-factor, three-level central composite design). Degree of interesterification (DI), and the ratio of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFA:PUFA) of triacylglycerols were used as response variables. The linear effects of all factors were significant for the DI while for MUFA:PUFA, the linear effect of oil ratio and interaction effect of time and oil ratio showed significant effects. The conditions, temperature; 57 °C, time; 16 h and weight ratio of oil (coconut oil:sesame oil); 50:50 were found to be the optimum. The R2 value for DI and MUFA:PUFA ratio were 0.80 and 0.82, respectively. Models fitted for both DI and MUFA:PUFA ratio were significant with non-significant lack of fit. Produced structured lipid exhibited superior nutritional, physical and chemical properties than its raw counterparts. Therefore, the constructed models and data provide useful information to produce structured lipid from interesterification of coconut oil and sesame oil in up-scaled level. The produced novel lipid containing beneficial fatty acids from both oils could be used to produce healthy fat based products.</p

Synergistic effects of oleogelators in tailoring the properties of oleogels: A Review

Conventional solid fats play a crucial role as an ingredient in many processed foods. However, these fats contain a high amount of saturated fats and trans fats. Legislations and dietary recommendations related to these two types of fats set forth as a consequence of evidence showing their deleterious health impact have triggered the attempts to find alternate tailor-made lipids for these solid fats. Oleogels is considered as a novel alternative, which has reduced saturated fat and no trans fat content. In addition to mimicking the distinctive characteristics of solid fats, oleogels can be developed to contain a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and used to deliver bioactives. Although there has been a dramatic rise in the interest in developing oleogels for food applications over the past decade, none of them has been commercially used in foods so far due to the deficiency in their crystal network structure, particularly in monocomponent gels. Very recently, there is a surge in the interest in using of combination of gelators due to the synergistic effects that aid in overcoming the drawbacks in monocomponent gels. However, currently, there is no comprehensive insight into synergism among oleogelators reported in recent studies. Therefore, a comprehensive intuition into the findings reported on synergism is crucial to fill this gap. The objective of this review is to give a comprehensive insight into synergism among gelators based on recent literature. This paper also identifies the future research propositions towards developing oleogels capable of exactly mimicking the properties of conventional solid fats to bridge the gap between laboratory research and the food industry

Optimization and characterization of new oleogels developed based on sesame oil and rice bran oil

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in oleogels as a promising low-saturated and trans fat free alternative to traditional solid fats. However, to date, oleogels made from different edible oils using different gelator molecules have minimum commercial application due to the lack of mimicking the properties of conventional solid fats. This study aimed to optimize the formulation of oleogels with properties close to commercial margarines based on binary mixtures of sesame oil and rice bran oil using beeswax and stearic acid as oleogelators. An Extreme Vertices Design with four components: sesame oil, rice bran oil, beeswax, and stearic acid, and 32 runs was developed using Minitab 21.1. Multi-response optimization was performed based on rheological parameters, and oil binding capacity as responses. All responses for optimization had R2 values > 96%. The oil binding capacity of the optimized oleogel was 99.99%. Optimized oleogel was further characterized for rheological, thermal, microstructural, and molecular properties and compared with commercial margarines. Results show that the properties of the optimized formula had closer values to those of commercial margarines, however with less structural recovery ability. Optimized oleogel exhibited higher oxidative stability than the margarine, however, lower than the oils. Beeswax and stearic acid exhibited synergistic effects on the oleogel properties at the ratio of 3:1. Results indicate that the optimized oleogel has the potential to be used in margarine manufacture with further developments to improve the gel strength and oxidative stability of the oleogel.</p

Investigation of the influence of minor components and fatty acid profile of oil on properties of beeswax and stearic acid-based oleogels

Understanding the impact of minor components and the fatty acid profile of oil on oleogel properties is essential for optimizing their characteristics. Considering the scarcity of literature addressing this aspect, this study aimed to explore the correlation between these factors and the properties of beeswax and stearic acid-based oleogels derived from rice bran oil and sesame oil. Minor oil components were modified by stripping the oil, heating the oil with water, and adding β-sitosterol. Oleogels were then prepared using a mixture of beeswax and stearic acid (3:1, w/w) at a concentration of 11.74 % (w/w). The properties of oils and oleogels were evaluated. The findings indicated that minor components and fatty acid composition of the oils substantially influence the oleogel properties. Removing minor components by stripping resulted in smaller and less uniformly distributed crystals and less oil binding capacity compared to the oleogels prepared from untreated oils. A moderate amount of minor components exhibited a significant influence on oleogel properties. The addition of β-sitosterol did not show any influence on oleogel properties except for the oleogel made from untreated oil blend added with β-sitosterol which had more uniform crystals in the microstructure and demonstrated better rheological stability when stored at 5 °C for two months. The oil composition did not show any influence on the thermal and molecular properties of oleogels. Consequently, the oleogel formulation derived from the untreated oil blend enriched with β-sitosterol was identified as the optimal formula for subsequent development. The findings of this study suggest that the physical and mechanical properties as well as the oxidative stability of beeswax and stearic acid-based oleogels are significantly affected by the minor constituents and fatty acid composition of the oil. Moreover, it demonstrates that the properties of oleogels can be tailored by modifying oil composition by blending different oils.</p