Evaluation of synergy between vegetal waxes and vegetal palm fat in the structuring of soy oil to produce oil gels of interest for the food industry

• Grant number: 21/08305-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2021
• End date: September 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Maria Aparecida Mauro
• Grantee: Yan Kondo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Trans fatty acids play an important role in the structuring and in the plastic properties of foods, such as margarines, spreads, shortenings, biscuit filling, among others. On the other hand, international health institutes recommend a limited ingestion of these fats, which can increase low density lipoproteins (LDL) and reduce high density lipoproteins (HDL) in the blood. In general, foods without trans fatty acids need a significant increase in the content of saturated fatty acids to reach similar technological and sensorial characteristics than the original foods. Palm oil is rich in saturated fatty acids and is widely used in food products with or without further processes, such as interesterification or hydrogenation. On the other hand, the increase on the saturated fat concentration also concerns the international health organizations. A solution could be to develop techniques, processes or formulations able to improve the structuring characteristics of vegetal fats, promoting a reduction in the concentration of these compounds. One of these methods is based on the incorporation of molecules capable to structure the oil at low concentration. Vegetal waxes, which are usually by-products from the oil production, present interesting structuring characteristics and could work in synergy with fats on the vegetal oil structuring, such as demonstrated in some few articles. The objective of this project is to study the synergy effects between vegetal waxes (carnauba and candelilla) and vegetal fat isolated from palm oil, on the structuring of soy oil carrying out the analysis of ternary solutions. (AU)