Tea polyphenol–soy lecithin–beeswax composite oleogelator for soybean oil oleogel: multiscale structural characterization and performance validation in bakery matrices

BACKGROUND: Unsaturated fatty acids based oleogels could present higher health benefits than shortening in baked goods, but poor oxidation stability limits their application. Regrettably, natural antioxidants, such as polyphenols, cannot be dispersed directly in grease-based systems. Herein, the composite gelator (TP-SL-B) was self-assembled by emulsifying with tea polyphenol (TP), soy lecithin (SL), and beeswax (B). RESULTS: H) nuclear magnetic resonance analysis validated that the polar choline head of SL was combined with the phenolic hydroxyl group of TP through intermolecular interaction. Based on this stabilized structure, the solubility of TP in soybean oil was greatly enhanced, and thus TP uniformly distributed oleogels (TPOs) were successfully obtained. Although rheological analysis indicated the TPO/shortening blends had weaker deformation tolerance than shortening, replacing 50% shortening with TPO reduced the saturated fatty acid content of cookies by 31.5%. Meanwhile, the peroxide value and sensory evaluation of cookies with half-replacement of the shortening with TPO were not significantly different from those of the shortening cookies. CONCLUSION: This study exhibits a strategy for preparing oxidation-resistant gelators containing natural hydrophilic antioxidants, which has the potential to reduce shortening use in bakery products by partially replacing it with TPO.