Hydrocolloids as an organogelator: Investigation of their effect on physical, rheological, and morphological properties of corn oil oleogel

Abstract Oleogels are semi-solid systems formed by different gelators through gelation processes to reduce fat content and saturated fatty acids of structured oil types. The objective is to assess the effect of hydrocolloids' type (xanthan, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, locust bean gum, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar, gum arabic, and carrageenan) on corn oil organogels' properties. Hydrocolloid solutions had non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behaviour. The locust bean gum had the lowest (0.02 Pa s) and the guar had the highest (264.8 Pa s) consistency coefficient. Hydrocolloids exhibited one endothermic transition peak within 88.7–114.5 °C. The highest (2813.4 J g−1) and lowest (1082.0 J g−1) melting enthalpies were measured for carboxymethyl cellulose and guar, respectively. Corn oil oleogel with arabic gum had the strongest viscoelastic properties. The yielded locust bean gum oleogel was of the lowest gel firmness (0.08 N) and highest oil release (88.7%). The oleogel produced with arabic gum required higher melting enthalpy (79.2 J g−1). The FTIR spectra revealed that the gel network formed due to the physical entanglements was stabilised by non-covalent interactions. The diffraction patterns of XRD indicate that using guar, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, xanthan, and carrageenan were more practical in producing oleogel with β′ polymorph crystals compared to gum arabic and locust bean gum. A change in the microstructure and appearance of the oleogels was observed when different hydrocolloids were used. The characterisation of oleogels demonstrated that the type of hydrocolloids had a key role in the oil–polymer interactions, and consequently in the network features and oleogel properties. Locust bean gum as a gelator with the weakest viscoelastic properties and melting temperature was not appropriate for oleogelation. Prepared oleogels with gum arabic and xanthan had suitable oil-binding capacity, firmness, and viscoelastic properties for pioneering applications in food products, where low saturated and trans fatty acids are sought.