Oleosomes, also known as oil bodies, are nutrient substances that exist as oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions in the form of triacylglycerols surrounded and protected by a specialized membrane of proteins embedded with a monolayer of phospholipid mixtures. These naturally occurring compounds are widely present in plants, serving as an energy reservoir during germination and providing resilience to stresses in severe environmental conditions. Moreover, as naturally pre-emulsified emulsions, oleosomes have shown promising applications in the fields of food and nutrition and pharmaceutical sciences. An increasing number of researchers are focusing on the extraction of oleosomes from conventional plant-based sources, such as rapeseed, soybeans, sunflower, and flaxseed, due to their attractive advantages. Meanwhile, many other plant species, microalgae, microorganisms, and mammals can also accumulate triacylglycerols in the form of oleosomes. This review presents new perspectives on the structure, composition, and traditional aqueous extraction techniques of oleosomes, as well as the alternative extraction methods, such as twin-screw press, enzyme-assisted, and ultrasound-assisted extractions of oleosomes in both conventional plants and sources such as nuts, fruits, and algae. Furthermore, the broad applications of oleosomes from the food industry to pharmaceutical fields are discussed. Highlights ♯ ♯ Aqueous extraction preserves the intact phospholipid–protein membrane of oleosomes, yielding stable natural emulsions • Twin-screw press and enzyme-assisted extraction significantly improve • oleosome yield and protein content over conventional blending • Oleosomes from non-conventional sources (nuts, algae, microorganisms) • exhibit composition and stability comparable to oilseed sources • Oleosome surfaces can be engineered (pH, ionic strength, covalent • modification) to tune stability and bioactive encapsulation efficiency • Oleosomes demonstrate pharmaceutical applicability as drug carriers, with encapsulation of hydrophobic bioactives confirmed across multiple studies
Takbirgou et al. (Fri,) studied this question.