Advance in Oleogels

Dear Colleagues,

Growing consumer concerns on low-calorie diets, animal proteins and sustainable ingredients require the development of structured foods without compromising the flavor and mouthfeel. Oleogels play a prominent role in the field of alternative edible oil structuring, where vegetable oils are structured/entrapped by a network of solid oleogelators. Over the past decade, oleogels research has taken new strides in reformulating fat-containing food products. Legislative limitations across the globe on saturated and trans fats have propelled the advancement of oleogels for commercial low-fat foods in the form of confectionaries, bakeries, spreads, dairy, and meat products. The design and implementation of oleogels in such diverse foods has been made possible with the discovery of a variety of structuring agents ranging from fatty acids, fatty alcohols, proteins, resins, waxes, cellulose derivatives, and sugar–fatty acyl derivatives. Precise control over the supramolecular architectures of gelators is necessary to design such novel foods. This has also facilitated the purview of oleogels toward pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields as controlled delivery carriers of drugs, nutraceuticals, and pre- and probiotics.

The main aim of this Special Issue is to highlight advances in oleogels research by focusing on the relationship between the supramolecular architecture of oleogelators and corresponding functional properties (morphological, rheological, textural, and sensory properties) in the designed foods. To achieve this goal, we invite high-quality submissions addressing supramolecular and biopolymer chemistry and food science. We also welcome researchers who envisage oleogels as controlled carriers in the fields of biomedicine, pharmaceutics, and cosmetics. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not restricted to:

• Supramolecular self-assembly and polymeric gelation mechanisms of oleogels;
• Role of oleogelators in modifying the textural and sensory properties of foods;
• Oleogels as fat mimetics or replacers in meat products;
• Design of oleogel-based bigels and structured emulsions for controlled delivery applications.

Dr. Sai Sateesh Sagiri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• edible oleogels
• fat mimetics
• low-fat foods
• supramolecular self-assembly
• controlled delivery carriers