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Effects of Oil Type on Sterol-Based Organogels and Emulsions

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Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of oil type on the formation, morphology and mechanical properties of phytosterol-based organogels. The formation of organogels can be satisfactorily predicted with a criterion based on Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSPs), provided that the sterol and sterol ester in these systems assemble as tubules. When structures other than tubules are formed, the predictability of the HSP-based criterion becomes void. In cases where organogelling occurred, the morphology and mechanical properties of the tubular network of the gels and water-in-oil emulsions were investigated. The findings revealed that the structure of the tubular network formed in oils with different compositions, could be grouped based on the dielectric constants of the oils. Curly and bundled tubules which formed networks, were observed in gels prepared with low dielectric constant oils (i.e. decane and limonene). For oils with a moderate dielectric constant (i.e. castor oil and sunflower oil), the tubules became less curly and straighter. Upon increasing the dielectric constant of the oil (eugenol), individual tubules were observed next to the bundled tubules. The results showed that straighter, bundled tubules are associated with firmer gels, whereas less straight (i.e. curly) tubules rendered weaker gels. The tubular network of the water-in-oil emulsions obtained for oils with a low dielectric constant appeared more open with straighter tubules. For oils with relatively high dielectric constant, the water-in-oil emulsions lost most of their tubular structure and only a few tubules could be observed. In the presence of emulsion droplets fewer tubules are formed, resulting in weaker networks.

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Acknowledgements

The research described in this paper is financially supported by Food and Nutrition Delta. The authors thank Ruud den Adel for performing a measurement on the ID02 beamline in Grenoble, and T. Narayanan and M. Sztucki (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) for support during these measurements. The authors also thank Adriaan Van Aelst, Wageningen University for preparing the SEM images. Claudine Diedericks is thanked for detailed feedback on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Palestine Polytechnic University, P.O. Box: 198, Wadi al-haria, Hebron, Palestine

    Hassan Sawalha

  2. Laboratory of Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Bornse Weilanden 9, NL-6708 WG, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Paul Venema, Arjen Bot & Erik van der Linden

  3. Unilever Foods Innovation Centre, Bronland 14, NL-6708 WH, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Arjen Bot

  4. Food Process Engineering, Department of Food Technology and Food Chemistry, Technical University Berlin, Seestraße 13, D-13353, Berlin, Germany

    Eckhard Flöter

  5. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Yaqi Lan

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  1. Hassan Sawalha
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Correspondence to Hassan Sawalha.

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Sawalha, H., Venema, P., Bot, A. et al. Effects of Oil Type on Sterol-Based Organogels and Emulsions. Food Biophysics 16, 109–118 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11483-020-09654-8

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