A sight of self-assembly mechanism in fish oil oleogels: Phase transition, crystal structure and non-covalent interaction

Fish oils contain co-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), but easily cause quality deterioration due to the oxidation. Beeswax-based oleogels could wrap fish oils by beeswax self-assembly. The phase transition, crystal structure and non-covalent interaction were investigated to reveal the self-assembly mechanism from the perspective of beeswax and oil phase characteristics. The results indicated that high unsaturation degree, PUFAs and beeswax additions promoted phase transition, SFC and stable crystal networks. The changes of crystal structures were ascribed to the polymorphism and polymorphic transition. beta-Polymorphs could form crystal networks, and beta '-polymorphs could influence the size of crystal chains or clusters as well as crystalline domains. Crystalline domain sizes affected crystal morphologies and network structures, including plate-like structures and multi-layer porous structures. UFAs could involve the beeswax self-assembly to change structure characteristics by van der Waals forces and n-n stacking. The OBC remained 100%, when beeswax additions reached more than 6%. Hence, beeswax additions, PUFA contents and unsaturation degree all influenced the selfassembly mechanism and adjusted the macroscopic properties of oleogels.