乳液凝胶的力学性质及应用研究进展

Research Progress in the Mechanical Properties and Application of Emulsion-gel

乳液凝胶是指油滴分散在凝胶基质中的一种典型的半固状食品体系,近年来在食品质构调控、功能性物质的荷载与控释等方面引起广泛重视。乳液凝胶的基质可以应用蛋白质或多糖等凝胶性生物大分子。按照分散油滴与基质的相互作用,乳液凝胶可分为"活性填充"和"非活性填充"两类。乳液凝胶的流变学特性及其它力学性质与基质类型、油滴含量和性状、油滴与基质的相互作用、油滴与基质的硬度比等因素密切相关。本文重点介绍乳液凝胶的形成与结构,讨论影响乳液凝胶力学性质的因素,并对乳液凝胶在食品工业中的应用前景作展望。

Emulsion-gel refers to a system in which oil droplets are entrapped in a gel matrix which can be formed by biopolymers such as proteins and polysaccharides. As a model semi-solid food system, emulsion-gels have vast potential applications in food texture design, delivering and release control of functional ingredients such as flavor, aroma and color materials, attracting more and more attention in the food industry. Emulsion-gels can be categorized as ‘active filler’ and ‘inactive filler’ types depending on the interaction between the emulsion droplets and the gel matrix. Their mechanical properties, especially the rheological properties, are related to the matrix type, oil type and content, the interaction between the oil droplets and the gel matrix as well as the comparison of stiffness between the oil droplets and the matrix. This paper discussed the formation of emulsion-gels, and the factors affecting the mechanical properties of emulsion gels in details. Also, the application of emulsion-gels in food science was introduced and its prospect was forecast.