The mechanistic resemblance of molecular gels to solid fats (trans and saturated) makes molecular gelation an ideal alternative in developing fat-based food and cosmetic products. The recent upsurge in the preference for molecular gels/structured-oils is due to being healthier than conventional solid fats. Two isomeric low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) namely mannitol dioctanoate (M8) and sorbitol dioctanoate (S8), synthesized by bio-catalysis, showed different behaviors towards structuring vegetable oils; while M8 formed oleogels with higher gel strength, the S8 gels were more aesthetic, translucent, and appealing. This study develops a means of adjusting the mechanical robustness and aesthetic appeal of products via studying the effect of varying the M8/S8 proportions. The results showed that parameters associated with aesthetic effect (e.g. % light transmittance), gel strength (e.g. rheology) and morphology were impacted by the ratio of the gelators, which was found to be capable of upregulating: i) the degree of transparency/aesthetic appearance in cosmetic application; ii) the degree of hardness in food application—comparable to the use of partial hydrogenation, employed for decades to control the degree of hardness. Therefore, this work enables the modulation of a gel’s aesthetic and organoleptic properties via a simple formulation of stereoisomeric molecular gelators.

Tuning aesthetic and mechanical properties of oleogels via formulation of enzyme-enabled stereoisomeric molecular gelators

2019 Fall National Meeting

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