Development and characterization of edible bigels based on starch hydrogels and monoglyceride oleogels for dysphagia food

Abstract

With the increasing dysphagia of the elderly, the development of dysphagia diet has become a research hotspot. This study focused on the synthesis of bigels composed of monoglyceride-based oleogels and starch-based hydrogels stabilized by chitosan-betaine-vanillin system. The impact of hydrogel/oleogel ratio on the rheological, oil-binding, and structural properties of the bigels were characterized. The structure of the bigels changed from oil-in-water (< 50 % oleogel) to bicontinuous (≈ 50 % oleogel) to water-in-oil (> 50 % oleogel). The viscoelasticity of the bigels were improved as the oleogel-to-hydrogel ratio decreased. The oil binding capacity of the bigels with oil-in-water stable cross-linked network structure was more than 95 %. The potential of using these bigels as dysphagia foods was assessed using standardized dysphagia test, which showed that they could be classified as grade four dysphagia foods. These findings provide new insights for designing and developing sustainable and healthy foods for people with swallowing difficulties.