Development and Characterization of Food-Grade Bigels Based on HPMC and Beeswax with Saffron Petal Powder as a Natural Antioxidant

Bigels are semi-solid, two-phase systems composed of an organic and an aqueous phase. This study aims to produce bigels with hydrogel of HPMC at concentrations of 1% and 2% (0.4% and 0.8% in bigel) and oleogel of beeswax at concentrations of 5% and 10% (3% and 6% in bigel). Additionally, to evaluate antioxidant properties, Saffron petal powder was added to bigel samples at two levels of 0% and 2%. The steady state measurement revealed that all samples exhibited pseudoplastic behavior (n<1). An increase in the concentrations of HPMC and beeswax resulted in significant increase of viscosity (p v < 0.05). The highest values of consistency index (K) and yield stress (τ0), (238.74Pa and 92.16Pa.s n ) were related to sample 8 (bigel with 0.8% HPMC and 6% beeswax). Furthermore, in frequency Sweeps tests, the storage modulus was greater than the loss modulus in all samples, confirming their viscoelastic solid characteristics. When comparing the rheological properties of the bigel samples to those of mayonnaise, samples 5 (bigel with 0.4% HPMC and 3% beeswax) and 6 (bigel with 0.4% HPMC, 3% beeswax, and 2% saffron petal powder) were identified as the best treatments. The antioxidant evaluation demonstrated that saffron petal powder significantly reduced peroxide and anisidine levels, and increased oil stability (p v < 0.05). The saffron petal powder addition resulted in 34.33% and 11.45% reduction in peroxide and anisidine values, respectively, in sample 6 compared to sample 5, after 90 days of storage. Sensory evaluations indicated that sample 5 received the highest scores for texture and color.