Oil Bodies for Innovative Food Products: From Plant Seed Processing to Digestive Fate
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The OBEINN project, entitled “Oil Bodies for Innovative Food Products: From Plant Seed Processing to Digestive Fate,” has aimed to rethink conventional oil refining by developing innovative extraction processes for lipid bodies (LBs) that do not rely on organic solvents. These lipid bodies are naturally present in oilseeds, protein crops, and lipid-rich cereal fractions such as germ, and they represent components of high nutritional value. By avoiding solvent-based refining, the project seeks to produce more sustainable, natural, and functional lipid ingredients suitable for advanced food applications1,2.To extract lipid bodies, OBEINN has combined several alternative processes, including dry grinding, aqueous extraction, and, for certain raw materials, controlled biological germination3. These methods allow the release of lipid bodies while preserving their native structure. In addition to lipid concentrates, other fractions obtained during processing—such as proteins, minerals, and polysaccharides—have been thoroughly characterized to explore opportunities for co-valorization, thereby improving overall resource efficiency and reducing waste.The project places strong emphasis on understanding the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, and microbiological quality of the lipid body concentrates. These characteristics have been studied both in pure form and when incorporated into food formulations. The behavior of these systems under industrial processing conditions, including heat treatment, high-pressure homogenization, and drying, has been evaluated and compared with that of conventional emulsions made from refined or crude oils. A key objective of OBEINN was to assess the nutritional performance of these lipid bodies. In this aim, lipid bodies have been integrated into innovative follow-on infant formulas designed to better mimic human breast milk. These formulas have undergone industrial processing steps and been evaluated using a dynamic digestion model adapted to 6-month-old infants to assess lipid and protein bioaccessibility.Ultimately, the project has generated a comprehensive database detailing the functional properties of lipid bodies and their formulations, alongside life cycle and cost analyses comparing the new extraction methods with traditional oil refining. By bringing together experts from plant physiology, process engineering, food physico-chemistry, and nutrition, OBEINN has aimed to overcome major scientific and technological challenges. References:1. Jeanne Kergomard, Frédéric Carrière, Nathalie Barouh, Pierre Villeneuve, V. Vié, et al.. Digestibility and oxidative stability of plant lipid assemblies: An underexplored source of potentially bioactive surfactants?. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2023, 63 (20), pp.4655-4674. ⟨10.1080/10408398.2021.2005532⟩2. Kergomard J, Paboeuf G, Barouh N, Villeneuve P, Schafer O, Wooster TJ, Bourlieu C, Vié V. Stability to oxidation and interfacial behavior at the air/water interface of minimally-processed versus processed walnut oil-bodies. Food Chem. 2021 Oct 30;360:129880. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129880. 3. Victor Labat, Christelle Louis-Mondésir, Sihem Hentati, Jean Chrisologue Totozafy, Boris Collet, Yann Gohon, Marlène Davanture, Marina Gromova, Loïc Rajjou, Hamza Mameri, Thierry Chardot, Modifications in lipids and storage proteins composition during germination of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.), Food Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.144682.Acknowledgements: to CARNOTS QUALIMENT and 3BCAR for fundings
Source: HAL
Institutions: Ingénierie des Agropolymères et Technologies Emergentes, UMR QualiSud, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, École Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologiques, Laboratoire de Chimie Agro-Industrielle, Biopolymères Interactions Assemblages, Nantes Université, Université Paris-Saclay, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, Science et Technologie du Lait et de l'Oeuf
Language: English
Topic: Proteins in Food Systems
Subfield: Food Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214567356