This research evaluated the influence of stearic acid, sunflower lecithin, and sorbitan monooleate on soy wax (SYW)/rice bran oil (RBO)-based oleogels. The physiochemical behavior of oleogel samples was evaluated using colorimetry, microscopy, FTIR, mechanical, crystallization kinetics, X-ray diffraction, and a drug release investigation. The prepared oleogels were light yellow, and adding emulsifiers did not change their appearance. All oleogels showed an oil binding capacity of >98%, independent of emulsifier treatment. The surface topography revealed that emulsifiers smoothed the surface of the oleogels. Bright-field and polarized micrographs showed the presence of wax grains and needles. FTIR spectra indicated that oleogel samples had the same functional group diversity as the raw materials. The oleogel samples lacked a hydrogen-bonding peak. Hence, we postulated that non-covalent interactions were involved in the oleogel preparation. According to stress relaxation studies, the firmness and elastic component of oleogels were unaffected by emulsifiers. However, EML3 (oleogel containing sorbitan monooleate) showed lower relaxing characteristics than the others. EML3 exhibited the slowest crystallization profile. Due to its low d-spacing, EML3 was found to have densely packed crystal molecules and the largest crystallite size. The in vitro drug release studies showed that emulsifier-containing oleogels dramatically affected curcumin release. These results may help customize oleogels properties to adjust bioactive component release in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Keywords: curcumin; oleogel; soy wax; wax crystals.