Feasibility of Hemp Seed Oil Oleogels Structured with Natural Wax as
Solid Fat Replacement in Margarine
Abstract
Cold-pressed hempseed oil (HSO) is known to have many health benefits
due to many phytochemicals and high polyunsaturated fatty acids content.
In this study, HSO oleogels were prepared with 3, 5, and 7% natural
waxes including sunflower wax (SW), rice bran wax (RBW), beeswax, and
candelilla wax to evaluate their potential as solid fat replacements in
margarines and spreads. Firmness, crystal structures, and melting
properties of these oleogels were evaluated. In general, wax-based HSO
oleogels except for RBW-HSO oleogels had lower firmness and weaker
crystal network than the corresponding soybean oil (SBO) oleogels. In
contrast, RBW-HSO oleogels had similar firmness, comparable or stronger
crystal network, and higher melting and crystallization enthalpies
compared to those of SBO oleogels. After removing polar compounds from
HSO, waxes except for RBW provided oleogels with greater firmness,
higher melting and crystallization enthalpies, and stronger crystal
network. Therefore, it was concluded that polar compounds negatively
affected the physical properties of wax-HSO oleogels but not those of
RBW-HSO oleogels. Margarine samples were prepared with SW- and RBW-HSO
oleogels, and their firmness and melting properties were examined. The
firmness of these margarines indicated that wax-HSO oleogels may achieve
the firmness of commercial spreads with less than 3% wax while the
firmness of stick margarines cannot be achieved even with 7% wax.
Although the properties of wax-HSO oleogels should be further improved,
they showed potential as solid fat replacements in margarines and
spreads.