Abstract:Edible lipid oil structuring is a hot topic in the modern food processing industry. In this study, triterpenoid glycyrrhizic acid (GA) was used as a natural structuring agent to transform vegetable oil into emulsion gels. The emulsion gels stabilized with GA contained a high content of oil and the preparation procedure was simple and mild. The microscopic structures observed using laser confocal microscopy and polarized light microscopy showed that at high GA and oil concentrations, the oil droplets that served as active filler particles were found to be closely packed in the gel network, thus strengthening the gel structure. The rheological results showed that at the same GA concentration, the gel strength of the emulsion gel was significantly higher than that of the hydrogel. In addition, the incorporation of β-carotene did not affect the gel structure significantly, and a good stability was maintained in the emulsion gel, indicating that GA-based emulsion gels could be used as a potential oil-soluble delivery system for bioactive ingredients. These findings suggested that emulsion gels prepared from the amphiphilic small molecule GA could have a broad range of applications in functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and other fields.
