Oleogels: Promising alternatives to solid fats for food applications

Increased concerns over intake of harmful transfats and saturated fats in the diet pose a new challenge to the scientific community, to come up with viable alternatives replacing detrimental fats without affecting organoleptic properties of the food product. Out of various strategies aimed to reduce/replace transfats and saturated fats in foods, oleogels are reported to be an innovative structured fat system used for industrial applications due to their nutritional and environmental benefits. This review will focus on the formulation methods and chemistry of oleogels, along with their recent food applications particularly in bioactive delivery and in other sectors complying with their need. An insight into the mechanism of gelation and various components of oleogels will be deliberated upon. Moreover, modified oleogels with improved technical and functional properties manufactured by use of several emerging technologies like ultrasound will also be reviewed.