Monoglycerides, polyglycerol esters, lecithin, and their mixtures influence the onset of non‐isothermal fat crystallization in a concentration dependent manner

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of commercially available monoacylglycerol (M), polyglycerol esters (P), and sunflower lecithin (L) on the onset of crystallization of bulk fat as a function of the added concentration. Not only a single type of emulsifier, but also binary and ternary mixtures of M, P, and L were added to the two different "host" fats using a statistically sound mixture design. The obtained mixtures were analyzed for their non-isothermal crystallization behavior by differential scanning calorimetry. If a single type of emulsifier was added, the nucleation was accelerated when adding M or P, while L addition had no significant effect. Furthermore, it was shown that the minimum concentration necessary to provoke a nucleation accelerating effect is lower for P than for M. Antagonistic effects between M and L (and not between P and L) were suggested by the coefficient estimates of the special cubic model.Practical applications: Palm oil (PO) is one of the most consumed vegetable oils in the world because of its unique physical properties. It imparts a very high stability to the b 0 crystal form, yielding relatively small crystals which give a smooth texture to e.g., margarines and shortenings. Because PO is semi-solid at room temperature, it forms an ideal hard stock to be used in trans free food products. However, PO has a slow crystallization rate and an unusually long a-lifetime. These disadvantages can be overcome by the addition of an emulsifier acting as crystallization modifier (e.g., monoacylglycerols and diacylglycerols) [1]. Furthermore, from a nutritional point of view, the saturated fatty acids present in PO [2], are among the factors contributing to cardio-vascular diseases [3]. When using more unsaturated fats as hard stock, the use of additives in order to avoid compromising the functionality of the food product should be further investigated.

Engineering the nucleation of edible fats using a high behenic acid stabilizer

“…The influence of additives and minor ingredients on crystallization enhancement of fats has been extensively reviewed . Some of the examples that have not been covered in those reviews are listed here: monoacylglycerols, diacylglycerols, and polyglycerol esters in palm oil, palm olein, palm‐based margarine fat, non‐hydrogenated fat not based on palm, and fat blends containing 75% coconut oil and 25% sunflower oil , free fatty acids and their esters in milk fat , sorbitan monooleate in soybean‐based interesterified fat , lecithin in commercial fats added to margarine and cocoa butter , sorbitan monostearate and monooleate in cocoa butter , to name a few. However, not much research has been conducted on the effects of high‐behenic acid stabilizers (HBS) on the nucleation and crystallization behavior of edible fats.…”

Crystallisation of monoacylglycerols and triacylglycerols at different proportions: Kinetics and structure

“…[7] The effect of MAG addition depends on the degree of supercooling, the concentration, and the type of MAG. [10] Sambuc et al [11] investigated the effect of MAGs on the crystallisation of different vegetable fats. The addition of 4% (w/w) of a monopalmitin plus monostearin blend decreased induction time in all samples.…”

Lipid formulations, structuring, and crystallization

“…Rothkopf & Danzl investigate the effect of introduced filling fats on chocolate crystallization while Lopes et al show how solid lipid microparticles can modulate or optimize the fat crystallization process. Rigolle et al , Daels et al , Min et al and de Olivieira et al study the influence of additives on fat crystallization. The first one studies the influence of lecithin in different concentrations and matrices while the second investigates the influence of combinations of lecithin and polyglycerol esters and monoglycerides.…”