Fabrication and Characterization of Oleogel Stabilized by Gelatin-Polyphenol-Polysaccharides Nanocomplexes

The development of oleogel has attracted growing attention because of its health benefits and promising potential to substitute saturated or trans-fat. The present work reports a type of oleogel using the emulsion stabilized by gelatin (GLT), tannic acid (TA), and flaxseed gum (FG) complexes (GLT-TA-FG) through freeze-drying and oven-drying. Results showed that the incorporation of TA and FG promoted the formation of nanoparticles, resulting in increased charge quantity and reduced oil-water surface tension. The structural integrity of oleogel largely depends on the drying method, FG incorporation, and TA concentration. It was demonstrated that with oven drying, stable oleogel without oil leakage could only be fabricated in the presence of FG. The GLT-0.075 wt % TA-FG complexes formed a particle shell around the oil droplet, leading to the enhanced gel strength of the oleogel. In addition, the oleogel stabilized by GLT-TA-FG complexes had high thixotropic recovery degree and rehydration ability, implying the stabilizing effect of TA and FG. Therefore, the interfacially adsorbed particles and the polymer gel network in bulk together contributed to the compact structure of oleogel. We believe that the oleogel based on GLT-TA-FG complexes has potential applications in food products with tunable rheological and textural properties.