Storming through plant biodiversity to extract oleosomes for sustainable food applications

International audienceTo highlight the physicochemical properties of various OB in the spotlight of the OBTAIN** consortium. To present the green refinery scheme proposed for their extraction Objectives Context Oilseeds and cereal seeds enclose a wide range of nutriments such as lipids, proteins, polysaccharides and various mineral and organic micronutrients. In planta, these nutrients are found under the form of natural assemblies such as oleosomes (OB), protein bodies or starch granules, that have interesting properties (micronic sizes, surface activity, high physicochemical stability, etc.). Up to now, these assemblies are extracted by various processes using energy, organic solvents, steam, alone or in combination. Thus, their natural structures are often strongly damaged, and thereby some of their functionalities are lost. Storming through natural assemblies' biodiversity to address the societal demand for more natural and minimally-processed food, seems promising. Indeed, the soft extraction of such assemblies could be an alternative to traditional intensive fractionation methods of plant raw materials to isolate target ingredients (sucrose, starch, refined oils, etc.). This would allow for energy savings and avoid solvent use, but must be balanced with potential challenges of this new green refinery scheme. Oleosomes can thus constitute new dietary carriers of ω3 and other bioactive molecules. Moreover, the combination of oleosomes with specific features (fatty acid profiles, stabilities, vitamin contents) can help meeting the requirements of specific nutritional targets (infants, children, elderly, athletes, etc.). Altogether, we are convinced that the valorization of these diverse oleosomes can be a strategic route in the development of sustainable food systems