ENZYMATIC PRODUCTION OF LONG-CHAIN ESTER AS AN OLEOGELATOR

Enzymatic esterification has been a preferred approach over conventional chemistry for the production of amphiphilic ingredients because it allows for the creation of biocompatible products with potential technological functions, such as oleogelation and emulsification capacity. To date, the knowledge about the effect of ultralong-chain oleogelator on technological characteristics in fat mimetics is still limited. In this study, the effect of an enzymatically produced ester derived from sorbitol and fully hydrogenated crambe oil (FHCO) was investigated on the rheological properties of oleogels. Sunflower oil-based oleogels were prepared using the direct method with 10% (w/w) of the ester. After completely oleogelator solubilization, the mixture was cooled in an ice bath and stored at 5 °C for 48 hours before analysis. The oleogels were analysed through frequency sweep (under isothermal conditions at 5 and 25 °C), thixotropy, and temperature sweep with ramps in the range of 0 to 90°C. At both 5 and 25 °C and across the entire frequency range tested, the oleogel exhibited G' (storage modulus) > G'' (loss modulus), indicating a predominance of elastic properties over viscous ones. The viscosity recovery was less than 20%, reducing the fact that the oleogel is shear-sensitive in nature. The viscosity recovery was less than 20%, indicating that the oleogel is sensitive to shear. The oleogel showed a two-stage network formation during both cooling and heating, which is related to the multicomponent nature of the oleogelator’s fatty acids. The melting and crystallization temperatures were 65.1 and 57.4 °C, respectively. These results bring new insights into ultra-long-chain carbohydrate esters in modulating properties of oleogels as fat mimetics.