Fabrication of bioaerogels from camelina seed mucilage for food applications

Food-grade aerogels were fabricated from camelina seed mucilage for the first time using a green approach based on supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). A high mucilage yield (11%, w/w) was obtained from camelina seed by water extraction. Drying of the extracted mucilage solution prior to the aerogel formation was eliminated by coupling the extraction of the mucilage with the hydrogel formation. The camelina mucilage aerogels exhibited high surface area (240 m(2)/g), nanoporous structure (6 nm), ultra-low density (0.05 g/cm(3)) and high porosity (94%). The camelina mucilage aerogels had a three-dimensional, open porous, fibrillar network structure. The crystallinity of the aerogels was lower than that of the crude mucilage powder, whereas the aerogels showed higher thermal stability. A non-Newtonian shear-thinning behavior was observed in all the mucilage samples. However, mucilage aerogels had a higher viscosity than the mucilage powder due to higher polysaccharide purity. Mucilage aerogels showed comparable rheological properties to xanthan gum at the same concentration (2%, w/w). Thus, the mucilage aerogels are great candidates to be used as thickeners and stabilizers in various food applications.