Trends and Future Perspectives of Polysaccharide-Based Bigels from Seeds, Vegetable Oils, and Waxes: A Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Gels are semi-solid colloidal systems characterized by three-dimensional networks capable of retaining up to 99% of liquid while exhibiting both solid-like and liquid-like properties. A novel biphasic system, the bigel, consists of hydrogel and oleogel, enabling the encapsulation of hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds. Their structure and functionality are influenced by the distribution of gel phases (e.g., oleogel-in-hydrogel or hydrogel-in-oleogel). This study aims to review current trends in polysaccharide-based bigels derived from seeds, vegetable oils and waxes, highlighting their biocompatibility, sustainability and potential food applications. A bibliometric analysis of 157 documents using VOSviewer identified four key thematic clusters: structured materials, delivery systems, pharmaceutical applications, and physicochemical characterization. Principal component analysis revealed strong correlations between terms, while also highlighting emerging areas such as 3D printing. This analysis demonstrated that seed-derived polysaccharides, including chia seed mucilage and guar gum, improve bigel structure and rheological properties, offering sustainable plant-based alternatives. Additionally, innovations such as extrusion-based 3D printing, functional food design, controlled drug release, bioactive compound delivery, and fat replacement are helping to support the further development of these systems. Finally, bibliometric tools remain instrumental in identifying research gaps and guiding future directions in this field.

Keywords: application; food science; hydrogel; oleogel; plant polysaccharides; seed.

Figure 1

Representation of hydrogel/oleogel matrices combined into a bigel system (Created in BioRender: (https://app.biorender.com; accessed on 15 March 2024) Scientific Image and Illustration Software).

Figure 2

Network map of keywords co-occurrence. Each node represents a specific keyword, while the colours indicate distinct thematic clusters identified through co-occurrence analysis. The edges between nodes reflect the frequency and strength of co-occurrence relationships among the keywords.

Figure 3

PCA Biplot: Principal Component Analysis of Keywords.

Figure 4

Classification of polysaccharide gums. (Created in BioRender (https://app.biorender.com; accessed on 18 March 2024): Scientific Image and Illustration Software).