Unveiling the functions of carbohydrate polymers in oleogels: Implications for food science-A review

Abstract

Carbohydrate polymer-based oleogels are emerging as viable substitutes for conventional solid fats by leveraging abundant, food-grade feedstocks, healthier fatty-acid profiles, and tunable viscoelasticity compatible with flavor carriers, micronutrients, and thermal processing. Direct oil structuring and emulsion-gel templating now enable polysaccharide networks to immobilize large oil fractions and modulate texture across diverse food matrices. However, predictive links between polymer chemistry-branching, charge density, hydrophobic substitution-and bulk viscoelastic response remain underdeveloped, limiting rational formulation and scale-up. Evidence on long-term oxidative stability, flavor-release kinetics, and performance under industrial stresses (freeze-thaw, high-shear, baking) is fragmented and lacks harmonized benchmarks. Clarifying regulatory pathways, implementing low-energy scalable manufacturing, and standardizing protocols for oil loss and oxidative indices are equally urgent. Against this backdrop, our work advances an application-first framework that couples material selection and processing windows directly to target product metrics in a continuous narrative. We integrate interfacial engineering with oil entrapment, bioactive and flavor loading, oxidative protection, and readiness for 3D food printing, tracing how molecular architecture propagates to macroscopic rheology, thermal resilience, and sensory outcomes. Practically, we provide decision guidelines that match carbohydrate polymers to desired textural and thermal ranges and identify emulsion designs, dehydration routes, and structurants that maximize oil immobilization with minimal additives while retaining clean-label appeal. We further delineate translation pathways to replace saturated and trans fats in spreads, bakery fillings, and meat analogues without compromising sensory quality, while foregrounding process sustainability through energy-aware operations and scalable unit steps. By integrating multiscale considerations-from molecular interactions and interfacial design to shelf life and manufacturability-this unified abstract identifies the principal gaps that currently limit predictability and robustness and articulates the novelty of our framework in delivering rational, transferable formulation strategies that accelerate responsible deployment of carbohydrate polymer-based oleogels as health-forward fat replacers in contemporary food systems.