Controlled oleosome extraction to produce a plant-based mayonnaise-like emulsion using solely rapeseed seeds

Oleosomes are oil storage structures in seeds, consisting of triglycerides surrounded by a protein-phospholipid mixed monolayer. They can be extracted aqueously together with other seed components such as proteins and soluble fibers. The co-extracted biomolecules can affect the properties of the extracts. Nevertheless, it is possible to control the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between these biomolecules and oleosomes by adjusting the extraction conditions. Hence, our aim was to adjust the extraction conditions in order to recover a natural emulsion with a specific functionality: a plant-based mayonnaise-like product, derived solely from rapeseed seeds. By varying the pH of extraction, the droplet size was customized and by increasing the number of purification steps, the right amount of co-extracted material was removed. A combination of these conditions shifted the rheological properties of the obtained natural emulsion to a range similar to the benchmark mayonnaises. This work shows that it is feasible to produce a plant-based mayonnaise with an oil content ranging from 61.7 g/100g to 72.0 g/100g through a simple and continuous oleosome extraction process by controlling the interactions between oleosomes and co-extracted material.