Production and characterization of foam-based oleogels stabilized by whey protein isolate and different polysaccharides complexes

• Grant number: 23/02631-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: March 22, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Miriam Dupas Hubinger
• Grantee: Marluci Palazzolli da Silva Padilha
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/27354-3 - Architecture of colloidal delivery systems: what is the role of structure on the digestibility?, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/11701-4 - Fabrication of plant-based nanofibers via electrospinning for the development of food-grade oleogels: multifaceted structural characterization, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Food oleogel applications are still limited due to the difficulty in identifying food grade oleogelators. The direct methods of producing these structures make this challenge even greater, since few hydrophobic molecules can be dispersed directly into the oil to be structured. Thus, new techniques have emerged to allow the use of hydrophilic structuring molecules, such as proteins and polysaccharides. Among the techniques, the structuring of oils from foam-based models, a biphasic air/water system, formed and stabilized by the presence of molecules with surface activity at the system interface is proposed. After, by removing the water, a "cryogel" is formed, where the three-dimensionalnetwork remains intact and allows the sorption of the liquid oil. After light shear, an oleogel, with viscoelastic characteristics very close to solid fats, is obtained. Its use in some application for foodstuffs is also propose. (AU)