Issue 8, 2019

Chia seed mucilage – a vegan thickener: isolation, tailoring viscoelasticity and rehydration

Abstract

Chia seeds and their mucilage gels provide a nutritionally and functionally promising ingredient for the food and pharmaceutical industry. Application and utilization of the gel remain limited due to the tightly adhesion of the mucilage to the seeds, which affects the organoleptic properties, control of concentration and structuring possibilities. To exploit the full potential of chia mucilage gels as a functional ingredient calls for separation and purification of the gel. Herein, the gel was extracted by centrifugation and characterized rheologically and microscopically to link the viscoelastic properties to the structural properties. Subsequently, the gel was dried employing three different methods for facilitated storage and prolonged shelf life. The dried gels were readily soluble and its viscoelastic properties were fully regenerated upon rehydration demonstrating its potential to envisage industrial applications. The viscoelastic chia mucilage demonstrated shear-thinning behavior with complete relaxation upon stress removal. The gel's elasticity was enhanced with increasing mucilage concentration resulting in a highly tunable system. The extractable and rehydratable functional chia gel is a viable candidate as additive for the development of products requiring specific viscoelastic properties. Addition of the gel enhances the nutritional profile without interfering with the organoleptic properties.

Graphical abstract: Chia seed mucilage – a vegan thickener: isolation, tailoring viscoelasticity and rehydration

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Jan 2018
Accepted
13 Jul 2019
First published
15 Jul 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Food Funct., 2019,10, 4854-4860

Chia seed mucilage – a vegan thickener: isolation, tailoring viscoelasticity and rehydration

L. Brütsch, F. J. Stringer, S. Kuster, E. J. Windhab and P. Fischer, Food Funct., 2019, 10, 4854 DOI: 10.1039/C8FO00173A

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