Effect of oleogelation on physical properties and oxidative stability of camellia oil-based oleogels and oleogel emulsions

In this work, the camellia oil-based oleogels and O/W oleogel emulsions were prepared with glycerol monolaurate (GML) as an oleogelator, which had a critical gelation concentration of 3 wt%. Results showed that with the increasing GML concentration, a more densely needle-like morphology was formed by the network of GML crystals within the oil, presenting the enhanced thermal stability due to the occurrence of van der Waals interactions and intermolecular hydrogen bonds. In turn, a more compact three-dimensional network was obtained in the emulsions with a larger droplet size, leading to a transition from a predominately elastic to viscous state. Moreover, a lower oxidation rate was observed by the POV and TBARS values as a function of storage time in either the oleogels or oleogel emulsions, indicating a better oxidative stability. These results contribute to a better understanding of oleogelation in camellia oil-based oleogels and oleogel emulsions for formulating food, pharmaceutical and person care products with desired physical properties and oxidative stability.