Effect of the addition of hardfats on the physical properties of cocoa butter

Crystallization behavior and compatibility analysis of palm kernel stearin/anhydrous milk fat blends and application

In this paper, the compatibility, phase behavior, and crystallization properties of the binary blends of palm kernel stearin (PKS) and anhydrous milk fat (AMF) were investigated by analyzing the solid fat content (SFC), thermal properties, polymorphism, and microstructure, with the aim of providing theoretical guidance for the blending of oils. The results showed that the PKS content primarily determined the SFC trend of the binary blends. However, the binary blends demonstrated poor miscibility and eutectic behavior was predominantly observed in the system, particularly at higher temperatures. Only α and β' forms appeared in this blended system. Simultaneously, the addition of PKS elevated the liquid phase transition temperature of the binary blends, considerably significantly increased their crystallization rate when the addition of PKS was more than 20% and increased the density and size of the fat crystals. Finally, the mixing design optimization method was used to get the most suitable ratio of the binary blends in the refrigerated cream system with PKS:AMF to be 0.914:0.086. The cream prepared with the above binary blends was indeed superior in overrun and firmness and had high stability. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Some fats with special advantages are often limited in their wide application because of their poor crystallization ability. In this paper, the crystallization ability of fats is improved, and their application scenarios are increased through the combination of fats, so as to provide reference for the production of special fats for food.

"Characterization and stability of α-tocopherol loaded solid lipid nanoparticles formulated with different fully hydrogenated vegetable oils"

Solid lipid nanoparticles can be compatible with several bioactive compounds and confer a differentiated crystalline structure. This study aimed to produce α-tocopherol loaded solid lipid nanoparticles with fully hydrogenated oils and fats from palm oil, soybean oil, and crambe oil, by high-pressure homogenization, using lecithin as an emulsifier. After recrystallization of solid lipid nanoparticles, dispersions were evaluated until 60 days of storage for particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, microstructure, dispersion stability and α-tocopherol quantification. α-tocopherol loaded solid lipid nanoparticles showed particle sizes and zeta potential values considered adequate for this type of particle. Presence of α-tocopherol altered thermal behavior of the particles, leading to increased crystallinity, with no changes in polymorphism, when compared to the unloaded solid lipid nanoparticles. All α-tocopherol loaded solid lipid nanoparticles dispersions showed stability with no losses of α-tocopherol, indicating their potential as a carrier for this compound in fortified foods.

Characterization and stability of solid lipid nanoparticles produced from different fully hydrogenated oils

The use of lipids from conventional oils and fats to produce solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) attracting interest from the food industry, since due their varying compositions directly affects crystallization behavior, stability, and particle sizes (PS) of SLN. Thus, this study aimed evaluate the potential of fully hydrogenated oils (hardfats) with different hydrocarbon chain lengths to produce SLN using different emulsifiers. For that, fully hydrogenated palm kern (FHPkO), palm (FHPO), soybean (FHSO), microalgae (FHMO) and crambe (FHCO) oils were used. Span 60 (S60), soybean lecithin (SL), and whey protein isolate (WPI) were used as emulsifiers. The physicochemical characteristics and crystallization properties of SLN were evaluated during 60 days. Results indicates that the crystallization properties were more influenced by the hardfat used. SLN formulated with FHPkO was more unstable than the others, and hardfats FHPO, FHSO, FHMO, and FHCO exhibited the appropriate characteristics for use to produce SLN. Concerning emulsifiers, S60- based SLN showed high instability, despite the hardfat used. SL-based and WPI-based SLN formulations, showed a great stability, with crystallinity properties suitable for food incorporation.

Chemical-Physical Properties of Red Palm Oils and Their Application in the Manufacture of Aerated Emulsions with Improved Whipping Capabilities

Red palm oil (RPO), which is rich in micronutrients, especially carotenoids, is different from its deodorized counterpart, palm oil. It is considered as one of the most promising food ingredients, owing to its unique compositions and nutritional values, while its usage could be further developed by improving its thermal behaviors. In this article, two typical commercial RPOs, HRPO (H. red palm oil) and NRPO (N. red palm oil), were evaluated by analyzing their fatty acids, triacylglycerols, micronutrients, oxidative stability index (OSI), and solid fat contents (SFCs). Micronutrients, mainly carotenes, tocopherols, polyphenols, and squalene, significantly increased the oxidative stability indices (OSIs) of the RPOs (from 10.02 to 12.06 h), while the OSIs of their micronutrient-free counterparts were only 1.12 to 1.82 h. HRPO exhibited a lower SFC than those of NRPO. RPOs softened at around 10 °C and completely melted near 20 °C. Although the softening problem may limit the usages of RPOs, that problem could be solved by incorporating RPOs with mango kernel fat (MKF). The binary blends containing 40% RPOs and 60% MKF exhibited desirable compatibilities, making that blend suitable for the manufacture of aerated emulsions with improved whipping performance and foam stabilities. The results provide a new application of RPOs and MKF in the manufacture of aerated emulsions with improved nutritional values and desired whipping capabilities.

Interesterified palm oil impairs glucose homeostasis and induces deleterious effects in liver of Swiss mice

BACKGROUND

Interesterified fats have largely replaced the partially hydrogenated oils which are the main dietary source of trans fat in industrialized food. This process promotes a random rearrangement of the native fatty acids and the results are different triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules without generating trans isomers. The role of interesterified fats in metabolism remains unclear. We evaluated metabolic parameters, glucose homeostasis and inflammatory markers in mice fed with normocaloric and normolipidic diets or hypercaloric and high-fat diet enriched with interesterified palm oil.

METHODS

Male Swiss mice were randomly divided into four experimental groups and submitted to either normolipidic palm oil diet (PO), normolipidic interesterified palm oil diet (IPO), palm oil high-fat diet (POHF) or interesterified palm oil high-fat diet (IPOHF) during an 8 weeks period.

RESULTS

When compared to the PO group, IPO group presented higher body mass, hyperglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance, evidence of insulin resistance and greater production of glucose in basal state during pyruvate in situ assay. We also observed higher protein content of hepatic PEPCK and increased cytokine mRNA expression in the IPO group when compared to PO. Interestingly, IPO group showed similar parameters to POHF and IPOHF groups.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that substitution of palm oil for interesterified palm oil even on normocaloric and normolipidic diet could negatively modulate metabolic parameters and glucose homeostasis as well as cytokine gene expression in the liver and white adipose tissue. This data support concerns about the effects of interesterified fats on health and could promote further discussions about the safety of the utilization of this unnatural fat by food industry.

The Effect of Hard Lauric Fats on the Crystallization Behavior of Cocoa Butter Substitute

This work investigated the crystallization and melting behavior of cocoa butter substitute (CBS) blended with two hard lauric fats: fully hydrogenated palm kernel oil (FHPKO) and krabok seed fat (KSF). The aim was to find a way to increase the heat resistance of CBS for the production of heat-resistant compound chocolate (HRCC). Adding FHPKO to CBS increased the crystallization rate with a decrease in crystallization induction time but did not increase the heat resistance. In contrast, all KSF-CBS blends exhibited higher heat resistance than CBS and crystallized into β' form, a preferred polymorph for fats used in compound chocolate. Only the blends with 10-60% KSF melted completely at the body temperature, indicating that they would leave no waxy mouthfeel, but the blends with 30 and 40% KSF exhibited a significant decrease in the crystallization rate compared to the original CBS. Therefore, the KSF-CBS blends with 10, 20 and 60% KSF are recommended for future use as fats for HRCC production.

Physicochemical characteristics of anhydrous milk fat mixed with fully hydrogenated soybean oil

There is a growing demand for fats that confer structure, control the crystallization behavior, and maintain the polymorphic stability of lipid matrices in foods. In this context, milk fat has the potential to meet this demand due to its unique physicochemical properties. However, its use is limited at temperatures above 34 °C when thermal and mechanical resistance are desired. The addition of vegetable oil hard fats to milk fat can alter its physicochemical properties and increase its technological potential. This study evaluated the chemical composition and the physical properties of lipid bases made with anhydrous milk fat (AMF) and fully hydrogenated soybean oil (FHSBO) at the proportions of 90:10; 80:20; 70:30; 60:40; and 50:50 (% w/w). The increased in FHSBO concentration resulted in blends with higher melting point, which the addition of 10% of FHSBO increase the melting point in 12 °C of the lipid base. Also, FHSBO contributed for a higher thermal resistance conferred by the coexistence of polymorphs β' and β, which remained stable for 90 days. Co-crystallization was observed for all blends due to the total compatibility of milk fat with the fully hydrogenated soybean oil. The results suggest a potential of all blends for various technological applications, makes milk fat more appropriate to confer structure, and improve the polymorph stability in foods. The blends presenting singular characteristics according to the desired thermal stability, melting point, and polymorphic habit.

Pre-crystallization process in chocolate: Mechanism, importance and novel aspects

Pre-crystallization is an important step in the production of chocolate, which is defined as tempering of cocoa butter through primary and secondary nucleation. The goal of tempering is to obtain a sufficient amount of β_V polymorph of the right size. The pre-crystallization process has a great impact on the quality and production cost of final product. Development of chocolate technology requires the use of the most appropriate techniques and ingredients without negatively affecting the quality characteristics. Applications of novel technologies within the confectionery industry have allowed production of chocolate in sufficient quantities to meet the public needs. In order to provide and investigate the potential and usage of novel technologies, the present review focused on different pre-crystallization methods and factors affecting the processing conditions. Seeding and ultrasound-assisted pre-crystallization can be used as alternatives to conventional tempering process. However, in both methods, optimization of experimental conditions is required.

Addition of glyceryl monostearate affects the crystallization behavior and polymorphism of palm stearin

Low crystallization-rate and formation of crystalline clusters makes palm stearin unpopular in fat-based products especially in their post-processing stage. Addition of emulsifiers is commonly used to overcome these drawbacks, since they are believed to induce or stabilize specific polymorphs of palm stearin. Glyceryl monostearate (GMS) was applied in palm stearin (1%, 2%, and 4% w/w) in this study, and the mechanisms on crystallization of palm stearin were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and polarized light microscopic (PLM) method. Data showed that GMS prompted the isothermal crystallization (15-30 °C) in a dose-dependent manner. Crystallization turned to low super-cooling sporadic nucleation at 30 °C. Besides, GMS led to an earlier onset of crystallization during cooling. GMS-palm stearin blends crystallized to form α polymorphs at first and subsequently underwent polymorphic transition to become β' polymorphs. Addition of 4% w/w GMS in palm stearin significantly decreased the size of crystals, which is helpful to reduce the grainy mouth feel of fat products in practice.

Interesterified soybean oil promotes weight gain, impaired glucose tolerance and increased liver cellular stress markers

Interesterified fats have largely replaced hydrogenated vegetable fat, which is rich in trans fatty acids, in the food industry as an economically viable alternative, generating interest to study their health effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect that interesterification of oils and fat has on lipid-induced metabolic dysfunction, hepatic inflammation and ER stress. Five week-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups, submitted to either normocaloric and normolipidic diet containing 10% of lipids from unmodified soybean oil (SO) or from interesterified soybean oil (ISO), and one more group submitted to a high fat diet (HFD) containing 60% of fat from lard as a positive control, for 8 or 16 weeks. Metabolic parameters and hepatic gene expression were evaluated. The HFD consumption led to increased body mass, adiposity and impaired glucose tolerance compared to SO and ISO at both time points of diet. However, the ISO group showed an increased body mass gain, retroperitoneal WAT mass, fasting glucose, and impaired glucose tolerance during ipGTT at 16 weeks compared to SO. Moreover, at 8 weeks, hepatic gene expression of Atf3 and Tnf were increased in the ISO group compared to the SO group. Thus, replacement of natural fat with interesterified fat on a normocaloric and normolipidic diet negatively modulated metabolic parameters and resulted in impaired glucose tolerance in rats.

On the quantitative phase analysis and amorphous content of triacylglycerols materials by X-ray Rietveld method

The characterization of fat components becomes very useful for formulation of shortening, margarines and fat products due to their unique properties of plasticity, texture, solubility, and aeration. However, X-ray diffraction experiments on such materials are usually limited to a qualitative evaluation of the polymorphic properties based only on the characteristic d-spacing peak intensities. In this work, interesting results based on the Rietveld Method have supported both a Quantitative Phase Analysis and Degree of Crystallinity study on industrial and academic appealing samples, such as triacylglycerol standards, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (hardfats) and cocoa butter. This useful approach to the area of oils and fats can provide valuable information about the polymorphism and its relationship to the application of lipid materials in food science and technology. Here, the discrimination between β and β' polymorphs on samples made of mixtures or blended hardfats was attained, and the results have shown a relevant contrast in comparison to a purely qualitative approach. Assessment of amorphous content on cocoa butter samples was achieved by isolating its contribution from the total X-ray diffraction background via mathematical tools during the whole pattern fitting.

Potential application of lipid organogels for food industry

Controversial issues regarding the role of trans fatty acids in food have led to progressive changes in the legislation of several countries to include more information for consumers. In response, the industries decided to gradually replace trans fat in various products with the development of fatty bases of equivalent functionality and economic viability to partially hydrogenated fats, causing, however, a substantial increase in the content of saturated fatty acids in foods. Today, the lipid science aims to define alternatives to a problem that is widely discussed by health organizations worldwide: limit the saturated fat content in food available to the population. In this context, organogels have been indicated as a viable alternative to obtain semi-solid fats with reduced content of saturated fatty acids and compatible properties for food application. The objective of this review was to present the studies that address the lipid organogels as an alternative for food application.

Low sat-structured fats enriched in α-linolenic acid: physicochemical properties and crystallization characteristics

This work sought to obtain and evaluate zero trans-fat reduced in saturated fatty acids, with higher content of unsaturated fatty acids. Palm oil (PO) was used as the reference of zero trans lipid base. Different amounts of linseed oil (LO) were added to PO, obtaining the following blends: 100:0; 80:20; 60:40; 40:60; 20:80 and 0:100 of PO:LO (w/w%), respectively. These blends were added to fully hydrogenated soybean oil (FHSO) as the crystallization modifying agent, and to sorbitan monostearate (SMS) as the structuring element, both at a proportion of 3% to build the structured fractions. The control and the structured blends were evaluated for fatty acid composition, solid fat content, consistency, crystallization kinetics, thermal behavior, microstructure and polymorphism. With the addition of LO to the PO, an increase of up to 80% was observed in the content of alpha-linolenic acid and a reduction of saturated fatty acids to 47% in the blends. FHSO and SMS offered thermal resistance to the blends, with relevant changes in the crystallization kinetics and microstructure, affecting macroscopic characteristics with the increase in consistence. It was possible to obtain a lipid formulation with features of plasticity and enhanced nutritional quality, compatible with several food applications.

Synthesis of structured lipids containing behenic acid from fully hydrogenated Crambe abyssinica oil by enzymatic interesterification

Low-calorie structured lipids (SLs) rich in behenic and oleic acids were produced by enzymatic (EI) and chemical interesterification (CI) of high oleic sunflower oil and fully hydrogenated Crambe abyssinica oil in proportions of 60:40, 50:50, 40:60 and 30:70 (w/w), respectively. The immobilized lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (Lipozyme TL IM) was used for 3 h at 70 °C at a dosage of 7% (w/w) free of organic solvents. The original blend (BE) and the reaction products were evaluated for their fatty acid (FA) and triacylglycerols (TAG) compositions, solid fat contents, thermal analysis, regiospecific distribution of the FA, microstructure and polymorphism. The tendency was towards a reduction in the C₅₂, C₅₄, C₆₀, C₆₂ and C₆₄ TAG contents and an increase in the C₅₆, C₅₈ e C₆₆ TAG contents, therefore the solid fat content was reduced. There was lower acyl migration at the sn-2 position of the TAGs in EI as compared to CI in all the blends ratios. Needle-like crystals were predominant in the IE while large symmetrical spherulites were observed in the BE. Reduction in the mean crystal diameter was observed in all the blends, in addition to modifications of the crystal morphology. X-ray diffraction analysis showed a predominance of the β' form crystals in both the IE and CI. The SLs were produced for application in the food industry as bakery/confectionery fats in the proportions of 60:40/50:50 and as additive in the crystallization of lipids in the proportions of 40:60/30:70.

Crystallization modifiers in lipid systems

Crystallization of fats is a determinant physical event affecting the structure and properties of fat-based products. The stability of these processed foods is regulated by changes in the physical state of fats and alterations in their crystallization behavior. Problems like polymorphic transitions, oil migration, fat bloom development, slow crystallization and formation of crystalline aggregates stand out. The change of the crystallization behavior of lipid systems has been a strategic issue for the processing of foods, aiming at taylor made products, reducing costs, improving quality, and increasing the applicability and stability of different industrial fats. In this connection, advances in understanding the complex mechanisms that govern fat crystallization led to the development of strategies in order to modulate the conventional processes of fat structuration, based on the use of crystallization modifiers. Different components have been evaluated, such as specific triacyglycerols, partial glycerides (monoacylglycerols and diacylglycerols), free fatty acids, phospholipids and emulsifiers. The knowledge and expertise on the influence of these specific additives or minor lipids on the crystallization behavior of fat systems represents a focus of current interest for the industrial processing of oils and fats. This article presents a comprehensive review on the use of crystallization modifiers in lipid systems, especially for palm oil, cocoa butter and general purpose fats, highlighting: i) the removal, addition or fractionation of minor lipids in fat bases; ii) the use of nucleating agents to modify the crystallization process; iii) control of crystallization in lipid bases by using emulsifiers. The addition of these components into lipid systems is discussed in relation to the phenomena of nucleation, crystal growth, morphology, thermal behavior and polymorphism, with the intention of providing the reader with a complete panorama of the associated mechanisms with crystallization of fats and oils.