Natural emulsifiers and thickeners extracted from plant sources are highly promising yet complex entities, typically comprising supermolecular complexes (e.g. polysaccharide hyperstructures, quintenary and quaternary protein structures, oil bodies), individual macromolecules, their breakdown products, and a number of other small molecules. It has become apparent that each one of these components can exert a different (positive or negative) effect to the overall efficiency of the emulsifying or thickening mixture, with consequences on the final structural, textural and bioabsorbtion characteristics of a food. This presentation will discuss recent advances (i) on the isolation of such individual components from natural emulsifiers and thickeners; (ii) on the characterization of their identity and activity; (iii) on the synergistic or antagonistic action towards emulsification and bioavailability; and (iv) on their contribution to the performance and functionality of the final products.