Impact of hydrophilic antioxidant-fortified composite gelators and oleogelation mechanisms on the rheology, in vitro digestibility and storage properties of wax-based oleogels.

This study prepared novel wax-based composite gelators using natural waxes and anthocyanin-soy lecithin complexes (ASC). These were used as gelators to construct oleogels, aiming to improve their digestion characteristics and storage stability. The results indicated that when anthocyanins were embedded in the wax system in form of phospholipid complexes, they exhibited good dispersibility. Combined FTIR and SEM analyses showed that ASC was uniformly dispersed in waxes primarily through van der Waals forces. The critical gelation concentration of these composite gelators was largely unaffected. The resulting oleogels maintained β' type crystal structure, but showed significantly decreased lightness, hardness, and gelation temperature (Tsol-gel). Microstructural analysis revealed that the crystals in the composite gelator oleogels were more dispersed, allowing for uniform oleogels system. In vitro digestion experiments showed that different gelators had varying effects on lipolysis, with ASC-CLWO exhibiting the lowest free fatty acid (FFA) release rate. After 8 days of accelerated storage in an oven at 60 °C, ASC-CLWO maintained lower peroxide value (PV) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, reaching only 9.2 mmol/kg and 1.2 mg/kg, respectively, demonstrating superior storage stability. Overall, this study offers insights for developing novel hydrophilic antioxidant-fortified composite gelators and their utilization in specialty oil development within the food industry.