Fabrication of chitosan-cinnamaldehyde-glycerol monolaurate bigels with dual gelling effects and application as cream analogs

Bigels were formed by using glycerol monolaurate, MCT and cinnamaldehyde as the oil phase and chitosan as the aqueous phase. Oil and aqueous phase was gelled by the self-assembly of glycerol monolaurate, and cross-linking of cinnamaldehyde droplets with chitosan, respectively. • Bigels were produced using plant-based ingredients and dual gelling method. • Chitosan crosslinking by cinnamaldehyde contributed to gel formation. • Covalent crosslinks modulated the structure and properties of bigels. • Cream was simulated with good texture and speadability. In this study, chitosan-based bigels were fabricated, where glycerol monolaurate was added in MCT oil to produce a gelled lipid phase and cinnamaldehyde was included in the lipid phase in order to act as a crosslinking agent. The synergistic effect of pH on chemical crosslinking effects was investigated. The potential of using these bigels as an alternative to cream was also investigated. The pH of the aqueous phase played an important role in controlling the extent of the Schiff-base reaction promoted by cinnamaldehyde. At pH 3.8, the bigels formed were homogenous but at pH 5.0 and 5.5 they exhibited phase separation, which highlighted the importance of chemical crosslinking. To better mimic the properties of real cream, span 80 was added to create a more homogeneous and smoother structure of the bigels. These bigels might provide a healthy and more sustainable alterative to food products that contain plastic fats, like cream.