In this study, a
novel and facile method was developed to fabricate
oleogels. The alginate/soy protein conjugates with excellent emulsifying
activity and emulsion stability were prepared via Maillard reaction
and freeze-dried to form the aerogel templates, which were then immersed
in corn oil within 6 h to induce the oleogels. Compared with the alginate
and soy protein solutions, the viscosity and elastic modulus G′ of the conjugate solutions increased, indicating
the formation of a new macromolecule and strengthened gel network
from Maillard reaction. The conjugate aerogels presented the morphology
of serious aggregation and conglutination but the higher elastic modulus
and better thermal stability, due to the increasing covalent interactions.
These aerogel templates showed a good oil absorption of up to 10.89
g/g aerogel and holding capacity of 40%. The resulting oleogels loaded
with thymol showed excellent antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. This work suggests that the fabrication of oleogels is not limited
to the choice of existing oleogelators but from a wide variety of
protein–polysaccharide conjugates to form the aerogel templates
for oil absorption.
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