The aim of the present research was to investigate the capability of different oleogelators to structure different type of lipid sources and to study the structural characteristics of the resulting oleogel. To this purpose, oleogels were prepared by mixing 5 % (w/w) of the structuring agents (saturated monoglycerides or mixture of β-sitosterol/-orizanol) in sunflower oil, extra virgin olive oil and triolein. The structural characteristics of the oleogels formed were evaluated by measuring their thermal, rheological and mechanical behavior at 20 °C.
Results obtained in this study highlight that the self-assembly properties of the structuring molecules are affected by the physical properties of the lipid source. In particular, lipids characterized by high viscosity values translate in oleogels with low firmness. This behavior is probably associated to the formation of a less structured network as a consequence of an increase in the difficulty of oleogelator molecules to pack together. These findings could be useful to exploit oleogels in the production of health value-added foods with tailored functional properties.
