Mixed surfactant systems of sucrose esters and lecithin as a synergistic approach for oil structuring

In order to modify the self-assembly of sucrose esters (SEs) in sunflower oil, we added sunflower lecithin (SFL) as co-surfactant. It is hypothesized that SFL modifies the self-assembly of SEs by interrupting the extensive hydrogen bonding between SEs monomers. The addition of SFL into SEs induced gelation of the mixed surfactant system oleogels at all studied ratios. The 7:3 SEs:SFL combination showed enhanced rheological properties compared to the other studied ratios, which suggests better molecular ordering induced by SFL. The modifications might have been caused by interference in the hydrogen bonding, connecting the polar heads of SEs molecules in the presence of SFL. This effect was confirmed by thermal behavior and small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXD) analysis. From the crystallization and melting analyses, it was shown that the peak temperature, shape and enthalpy decreased as the SFL ratio increases. Meanwhile, the bi-component oleogels exhibited new peaks in the SAXD profile, which imply a self-assembly modification. The microscopic study through polarized and electrons revealed a change in the structure. Therefore, it can be concluded that a synergistic effect between SEs and SFL, more particularly at 7:3 ratio, towards sunflower oil structuring could be obtained. These findings shed light for greater applications of SEs as structuring and carrier agent in foods and pharmaceutical.