Phytosterol‐based oleogels self‐assembled with monoglyceride for controlled volatile release

Abstract BACKGROUND Oleogels have recently emerged as a subject of growing interest among industrial and academic researchers as an alternative to saturated/ trans ‐fat and delivery of functional ingredients. Phytosterols, comprising plant‐derived natural steroid compounds, are preferred for oleogel production because they are both natural and healthy. In the present study, phytosterol‐based oleogels self‐assembled with monoglyceride were studied with respect to tuning volatile release. RESULTS Microscopy images of the bicomponent oleogels of β ‐sitosterol and monoglyceride showed the formation of a new three‐dimensional network of entangled crystals and a controllable microstructure. Our analysis from differential scanning calorimetry and small angle X‐ray scattering results suggests the self‐assembly of β ‐sitosterol and monoglyceride via intermolecular hydrogen bonds into spherulitic microstructures. The results showed that the release rate ( v 0 ), maximum headspace concentrations ( C max ) and partition coefficients ( k a/o ) for oleogels showed a significantly controlled release and were tunable via the microstructure of phytosterol‐based oleogels under both dynamic and static conditions. In addition, the solid‐like oleogels had interesting thixotropic and thermoresponsive behaviors, probably as a result of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. CONCLUSION The self‐assembly of phytosterol‐based oleogels with monoglyceride was attributed to intermolecular hydrogen and is demonstrated to be a promising tunable and functional strategy for delivering flavor compounds. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry