Crystallisation of monoacylglycerols and triacylglycerols at different proportions: Kinetics and structure

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of adding monoacylglycerols (MAGs) to triacylglycerols (TAGs) on the crystallisation properties in a fat system. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarised light microscopy (PLM) methods were used for the analysis. Different MAGs (monoolein—O, monopalmitin—P, and monolaurin—L) were added at 1, 3, and 5% (w/w) to TAG samples, namely (triolein—OOO, tripalmitin—PPP, and tristearin—SSS). DSC results showed that the addition of MAGs changed the crystallisation of the TAGs (PPP, SSS, and OOO). The same MAG may exhibit different behaviours (induction or retardation of crystallisation) depending on the proportion added. The addition of 5% (w/w) of MAG to TAG (PPP and SSS) delayed the crystallisation process, while the best proportion of added MAGs to promote crystallisation was 3% (w/w).