{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T06:54:09Z","timestamp":1769756049449,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769644800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005802","name":"Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PN-IV-P2-2.1-TE-2023-1206"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PN-IV-P2-2.1-TE-2023-1206"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005802","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The increasing demand for plant-based alternatives, driven by veganism, lactose intolerance, and greater health consciousness, has intensified research into dairy-free frozen desserts. This study investigates the development of a plant-based ice cream alternative utilizing oleosomes extracted from sunflower seed kernels as natural emulsifiers, eliminating the need for synthetic additives. Oleosomes were obtained through aqueous extraction from raw kernels, incorporated into emulsions in three levels (0, 12, and 24%), and combined with sunflower seed oil, tahini, date paste, and water to create the ice cream (IC) formulations. The physicochemical properties of three formulations of a sugar-free frozen dessert were studied. Physicochemical analyses assessed nutritional value, color (CIELab), melting time, stability, overrun, viscosity, and texture profile (TPA). Sensory evaluation was conducted using a hedonic test to assess the impact of tahini type (sunflower seed tahini or pumpkin seed kernel tahini) on the product acceptance. Results showed that higher oleosome content improved emulsion stability and melting resistance, while also producing a softer (30.74 \u00b1 0.28 N), less adhesive (1.87 \u00b1 0.20 mJ) texture, suitable for plant-based ice cream. Sensory analysis revealed a clear preference for the pumpkin tahini formulation, which scored 8.21 \u00b1 0.62 for overall appreciation. The findings demonstrate that the addition of oleosome might improve textural attributes of the products, while the consumer preference could also be influenced by the type of tahini involved in the formulation. However, further studies are necessary to corroborate the proposed interaction mechanisms of ingredients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15030472","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T16:08:17Z","timestamp":1769702897000},"page":"472","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Impact of Adding Sunflower Seed Oil Bodies to a Sugar-Free Plant-Based Ice Cream Formulation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Flavius George","family":"Viorel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400394 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cristian","family":"Szekely","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400394 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andru\u021ba Elena","family":"Mure\u0219an","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400394 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1253-2592","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreea","family":"Pu\u0219ca\u0219","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400394 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2113-422X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vlad","family":"Mure\u0219an","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400394 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"828","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.ejcn.1602387","article-title":"Public views of the benefits and barriers to the consumption of a plant-based diet","volume":"60","author":"Lea","year":"2006","journal-title":"Eur. J. Clin. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Rana, T. (2025). Chapter 27\u2014Lactose intolerance\u2014A global problem?. Handbook of Milk Production, Quality and Nutrition, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Clarke, C. (2012). Science of Ice Cream, Royal Society of Chemistry.","DOI":"10.1039\/9781839168512"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2017.07.022","article-title":"Making sense of the \u201cclean label\u201d trends: A review of consumer food choice behavior and discussion of industry implications","volume":"99","author":"Asioli","year":"2017","journal-title":"Food Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Goff, H.D. (2013). Advanced Dairy Chemistry Volume 2: Lipids, Springer."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Goff, H.D., and Hartel, R.W. (2013). Ice Cream, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4614-6096-1"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4639","DOI":"10.1039\/C9SM00352E","article-title":"The behaviour of sunflower oleosomes at the interfaces","volume":"15","author":"Karefyllakis","year":"2019","journal-title":"Soft Matter"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khurana, S., and Singh, R. (2020). Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) Seed. Oilseeds: Health Attributes and Food Applications, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-15-4194-0_5"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4666","DOI":"10.1002\/fsn3.1783","article-title":"Oilseed crop sunflower (Helianthus annuus) as a source of food: Nutritional and health benefits","volume":"8","author":"Adeleke","year":"2020","journal-title":"Food Sci. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Mangguali, M., Meta, M., and Syarifuddin, A. (2023, January 25\u201326). Study of inulin content and extractions methods in several types of tubers. Proceedings of the 2nd Unhas International Conference on Agricultural Technology (UICAT 2023), Makassar, Indonesia."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodhyd.2014.05.030","article-title":"High internal phase emulsion gels (HIPE-gels) created through assembly of natural oil bodies","volume":"43","author":"Nikiforidis","year":"2015","journal-title":"Food Hydrocoll."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Weiss, J., and Zhang, H. (2019). Recent advances in the composition, extraction and food applications of plant-derived oleosomes. Trends in Food Science and Technology, Elsevier Ltd."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112780","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfoodeng.2025.112780","article-title":"Oleosome extraction: Challenges, innovations, and opportunities for industrial applications","volume":"404","author":"Timilsena","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Food Eng."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Acevedo-Fani, A., Dave, A., and Singh, H. (2020). Nature-Assembled Structures for Delivery of Bioactive Compounds and Their Potential in Functional Foods. Front. Chem., 8.","DOI":"10.3389\/fchem.2020.564021"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112471","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfoodeng.2025.112471","article-title":"Freeze-thaw stability of oilseed rape oleosome emulsions","volume":"392","author":"Bramante","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Food Eng."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"877","DOI":"10.1080\/10408390701724264","article-title":"Nutritional and functional properties of dates: A review","volume":"48","author":"Lee","year":"2008","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137630","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2023.137630","article-title":"Thermally treated peanut oil bodies as a fat replacer for ice cream: Physicochemical and rheological properties","volume":"436","author":"Zaaboul","year":"2024","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118490","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lwt.2025.118490","article-title":"Nutritional, rheological, and sensory effect of oat okara enrichment in plant-based ice cream","volume":"233","author":"Caponio","year":"2025","journal-title":"LWT"},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"265","article-title":"Understanding color models: A review","volume":"2","author":"Ibraheem","year":"2012","journal-title":"ARPN J. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Stan, L. (2018). Analiza Senzorial\u0103 a Produselor Alimentare, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"285","DOI":"10.21608\/fjard.2023.297295","article-title":"Characteristics of functional low fat ice milk produced with seeds flax, sunflower or pumpkin powder and stevia","volume":"37","author":"Ibrahim","year":"2023","journal-title":"Fayoum J. Agric. Res. Dev."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, W., Wang, M., Xu, C., Liu, Z., Gu, L., Ma, J., Jiang, L., Jiang, Z., and Hou, J. (2022). Effects of Soybean Oil Body as a Milk Fat Substitute on Ice Cream: Physicochemical, Sensory and Digestive Properties. Foods, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/foods11101504"},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"969","article-title":"Effect of Carrot and Pumpkin Pulps Adding on Chemical, Rheological, Nutritional and Organoleptic Properties of Ice Cream","volume":"9","author":"Mohamed","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Nutr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hoppu, U., Puputti, S., Aisala, H., Laaksonen, O., and Sandell, M. (2018). Individual differences in the perception of color solutions. Foods, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/foods7090154"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"132","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eatbeh.2013.11.003","article-title":"A review of visual cues associated with food on food acceptance and consumption","volume":"15","author":"Wadhera","year":"2014","journal-title":"Eat. Behav."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6431","DOI":"10.1111\/ijfs.17388","article-title":"Physicochemical and sensory properties of vegan ice cream using upcycled Aquasoya powder","volume":"59","author":"Hwang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kim, Y.H., and Shin, W.S. (2022). Evaluation of the Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Aquasoya (Glycine max Merr.) Powder for Vegan Muffin Preparation. Foods, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/foods11040591"},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"e15901","article-title":"A novel functional reduced fat ice cream produced with pea protein isolate instead of milk powder","volume":"45","author":"Avkan","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Food Process. Preserv."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Craig, W.J., and Brothers, C.J. (2022). Nutritional Content of Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts. Nutrients, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/nu14194150"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e70226","DOI":"10.1111\/1541-4337.70226","article-title":"The Science of Ice Cream Meltdown and Structural Collapse: A Comprehensive Review","volume":"24","author":"Wu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"186","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodhyd.2018.04.011","article-title":"Effects of quince seed on the rheological, structural and sensory characteristics of ice cream","volume":"82","author":"Kurt","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Hydrocoll."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"De la Cruz Mart\u00ednez, A., Delgado Portales, R.E., P\u00e9rez Mart\u00ednez, J.D., Gonz\u00e1lez Ram\u00edrez, J.E., Villalobos Lara, A.D., Borras Enr\u00edquez, A.J., and Moscosa Santill\u00e1n, M. (2020). Estimation of Ice Cream Mixture Viscosity during Batch Crystallization in a Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger. Processes, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/pr8020167"}],"container-title":["Foods"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/15\/3\/472\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]],"date-time":"2026-01-29T16:16:50Z","timestamp":1769703410000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/15\/3\/472"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]]},"references-count":32,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["foods15030472"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/foods15030472","relation":{},"ISSN":["2304-8158"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2304-8158","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,29]]}}}