Modulation of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Digestibility through Oleogelation

Background. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) represents a key player in the Mediterranean diet for its health-promoting capacity. Although its use as a functional ingredient would be particularly interesting, the direct addition of EVOO to food is challenging due to its liquid state. EVOO conversion into a solid-like material through by oleogelation could enlarge its possible applications. Methods. EVOO was gelled by adding 10% (w/w) of saturated monoglycerides (MG), rice bran waxes (RW), sunflower waxes (SW) or a β-sitosterol/γ-oryzanol mixture (PS). Oleogels were characterised for their structure and subjected to static in vitro digestion. The fatty acid release and destructuring behavior were assessed. Results. The resulting oleogels differed for rheological properties and firmness due to the differences in gel network structure. PS oleogel was the firmest sample followed by SW, RW and MG ones. During in vitro digestion, the fatty acid release was significantly lower for all oleogels compared to unstructured oil. The different network provided by the four oleogelators not only influenced FA release, but also the intestinal micellar size. Conclusion. Acquired results could open new horizons for EVOO application through oleogelation to obtain novel EVOO-based fat replacers and better deliver the EVOO health functionalities.