Low pH co-extraction method of preparing a stable oil body solution

1 . A method of preparing an oil body cream, said method comprising the steps of

a. preparing a suspension of i) a seed material; and ii) a non-seed plant material or seed extract material in an aqueous phase, wherein the seed material and non-seed material or seed extract material are present in a dry weight ratio of between 50:50 to 95:5,

b. adjusting the pH of the suspension to greater than 6;

c. mechanically disrupting the suspension to form a slurry;

d. diluting the slurry with a buffer, wherein said buffer has a pH between 6.5 to 10;

e. filtering or centrifuging the slurry to form an oil body solution;

f. adjusting the pH to between 1.5 to 4, and allowing the solution to form layers; and

g. separating an upper layer comprising an oil body cream;

wherein the seed material and non-seed material are selected from a group of plant source combinations consisting of:

i. chia and chia seed mucilage;

ii. hemp and pumpkin; and

iii. hemp and dates.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the seed material has a protein content between 13 and 30% and a carbohydrate content between 8 and 27%, and the non-seed material has a protein content between 4 and 25% and a carbohydrate content between 16 and 35%.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the omega-3 content of the seed material is between 10 and 60% of the oil content of the seed material.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein step a) comprises suspending the seed material and the non-seed material separately in a buffer at about pH 6.5 to about pH 10, followed by mixing to form the suspension.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the suspension in step a) is heated to between 90 to 120° C., followed by cooling to between 4 to 30° C.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the suspension in step a) is cooled to between 4 to 30° C. for at least 1 hour.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in step c), the suspension is mechanically disrupted by grinding to form the slurry.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in step e), the slurry is filtered using a filter with a pore size of 200 μm or less, to provide a first retentate separated from a first filtrate.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein (i) the first retentate is added to a buffer at between pH 6.5 to 10 and filtered using a filter with a pore size of 200 μm or less, to provide a second retentate separated from a second filtrate; and (ii) the first filtrate and second filtrate are combined to form the oil body solution.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the average D [3;2] particle size of the oil bodies in the solution in step f) is between 4 μm to 26 μm, measured using static light scattering.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the % total solid content of the oil body solution is between 1 to 15%.

12 . An oil body cream prepared according to the method of claim 1 , wherein said cream comprises oil bodies having an average D [3;2] particle size between 4 μm to 26 μm, measured using static light scattering, and wherein said oil body cream has a pH between 1.5 to 4.

13 . A food product comprising an oil body cream prepared according to the method of claim 1 , wherein said cream comprises oil bodies having an average D [3;2] particle size between 4 pm to 26 pm, measured using static light scattering, and wherein said oil body cream has a pH between 1.5 to 4, wherein said food product is selected from the group consisting of a plant milk, alternative chilled dairy, sauce, and dip.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in step b), the suspension has a pH of between 6.5 to 10.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in step f), the pH is adjusted to 2.7.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the oil body cream has a pH of between 1.5 to 4.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises a step h) of freeze drying the oil body cream to form a powder.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in step f), the layers are formed via settling, centrifugation, or a combination thereof.