Feasibility of hemp seed oil oleogels structured with natural wax as solid fat replacement in margarine

Authors: Hwang, Hong-Sik; Kim, Sanghoon; Moser, Jill; LEE, SUYONG - Sejong University; Liu, Sean

Submitted to: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/21/2022
Publication Date: 6/11/2022
Citation: Hwang, H., Kim, S., Moser, J.K., Lee, S.L., Liu, S.X. 2022. Feasibility of hemp seed oil oleogels structured with natural wax as solid fat replacement in margarine. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 99(11):1055-1070. https://doi.org/10.1002/aocs.12619.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aocs.12619

Interpretive Summary: Food products such as margarines, spreads, and shortenings need solid fats to provide desired textures. Conventional solid fats used in these products contain high levels of saturated fatty acids, which are known to have negative health effects. Oleogels are of great interest because they are made with healthy vegetable oils and can be used as solid fat replacements in these food products. Hempseed oil contains many substances that have health benefits such as anti-inflammatory activities, lipid profile improvement, and protection from oxidative stress. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of wax-based oleogels of hempseed oil as solid fat replacements in textured foods such as margarine. Understanding the factors affecting the properties of oleogels is important for the practical application of this technology, and therefore this study also investigated the effect of ingredients in hempseed oil on the properties of oleogels. Oleogels showing promising properties were used to make margarines, and their hardness and melting properties were examined. The hardness of commercial spreads can be achieved by adding less than 3% wax in the margarine while the hardness of stick margarines cannot be achieved even with 7% wax. Although the properties of hempseed oil oleogels should be further improved, these oleogels showed potential as solid fat replacements in margarines and spreads.

Technical 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.