Morphology, structure, properties and applications of starch ghost: A review

Effect of plasma-activated water on the supramolecular structure and techno-functional properties of starch: A review

This review discusses the changes in the multi-scale structure and functionality of starch after its hydrothermal modification using plasma-activated water (PAW). PAW contains reactive species that decrease the pH of the water and increase the oxidation-reduction potential, which promotes the oxidation and degradation of the surface of the starch granules to varying extents, depending on the botanical source and treatment conditions. In this article, we compile the information published so far on the effects of using PAW during heat-moisture and annealing treatments and discuss the results of the substitution of water with PAW on the long and short-range crystallinity, helical order, thermal behavior, functional properties, and digestibility. Additionally, we highlighted the possible application of PAW-modified starches. Finally, we provided an overview of future challenges, suggesting several potential directions to understand the mechanisms behind PAW use for developing sustainable modified starches for the food industry.

Value addition of mango kernel for development and characterization of starch with starch nanoparticles for packaging applications

The present research was conducted to explore the potential of mango kernel starch from the Chaunsa variety to develop starch and starch nanoparticles (SNPs) based films. The investigation included starch isolation from mango kernel followed by the preparation of SNPs by acid hydrolysis and a thorough examination of various physicochemical properties for film formation. The properties of SNPs were found to be distinctly different from those of native starch. SNPs exhibited an aggregated form with an irregular surface, whereas native starch had an oval and elongated shape with a smooth surface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the starch type in SNPs was of the A-type. Additionally, the pasting properties of SNPs were minimal due to the acid hydrolysis process. SNP-based composite film was developed with (5 %) SNP concentration added. This successful incorporation of SNPs enhanced biodegradability, with complete degradation occurring within three weeks. Moreover, the composite films displayed increased burst strength, measuring 1303.51 ± 73.7 g, and lower water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) at (7.40 ± 0.50) × 10-3 g per square meter per second and reduced water solubility at 35.32 ± 3.0 %. This development represents a significant advancement in the field of eco-friendly packaging materials.

Resistant starch from yam: Preparation, nutrition, properties and applications in the food sector

Yam is a significant staple food and starch source, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, holding the fourth position among the world's top ten tuber crops. Yam tubers are rich in essential nutrients and a diverse range of beneficial plant compounds, which contribute to their multifaceted beneficial functions. Furthermore, the abundant starch and resistant starch (RS) content in yam can fulfil the market demand for RS. The inherent and modified properties of yam starch and RS make them versatile ingredients for a wide range of food products, with the potential to become one of the most cost-effective raw materials in the food industry. In recent years, research on yam RS has experienced progressive expansion. This article provides a comprehensive summary of the latest research findings on yam starch and its RS, elucidating the feasibility of commercial RS production and the technology's impact on the physical and chemical properties of starch. Yam has emerged as a promising reservoir of tuber starch for sustainable RS production, with thermal, chemical, enzymatic and combination treatments proving to be effective manufacturing procedures for RS. The adaptability of yam RS allows for a wide range of food applications.

Preparation, Characterization, and Bioactivities of Polysaccharide-Nano-Selenium and Selenized Polysaccharides from Acanthopanax senticosus

Acanthopanax senticosus polysaccharide-nano-selenium (ASPS-SENPS) and A. selenopanax selenized polysaccharides (Se-ASPS) were synthesized, and their characterization and biological properties were compared. The acid extraction method was used to extract the polysaccharides of A. selenopanax, followed by decolorization using the hydrogen peroxide method and deproteinization based on the Sevage method, and the purification of A. senticosus polysaccharides (ASPS) was carried out using the cellulose DEAE-52 ion column layer analysis method. An A. senticosus polysaccharide-nano-selenium complex was synthesized by a chemical reduction method using ASPS as dispersants. The selenization of polysaccharides from A. selenopanax was carried out using the HNO3-Na2SeO3 method. The chemical compositions, scanning electron microscopy images, infrared spectra, and antioxidant properties of ASPS-SENPS and Se-ASPS were studied, and they were also subjected to thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicated that the optimal conditions for the synthesis of ASPS-SENPS include the following: when ASPS accounts for 10%, the ratio of ascorbic acid and sodium selenium should be 4:1, the response time should be 4 h, and the reaction temperature should be 50 °C. The most favorable conditions for the synthesis of Se-ASPS were as follows: m (Na2SeO3):m (ASPS) = 4:5, response temperature = 50 °C, and response time = 11.0 h. In the in vitro antioxidant assay, when the mass concentration of Se-ASPS and ASPS-SENPS was 5 mg/mL, the removal rates for DPPH free radicals were 88.44 ± 2.83% and 98.89 ± 3.57%, respectively, and the removal rates for ABTS free radicals were 90.11 ± 3.43% and 98.99 ± 1.73%, respectively, stronger than those for ASPS. The current study compares the physiological and bioactivity effects of ASPS-SENPS and Se-ASPS, providing a basis for future studies on polysaccharides.

Understanding CaCl2 induces surface gelatinization to promote cold plasma modified maize starch: Structure-effect relations

To investigate the influence of surface gelatinization on cold plasma (CP) modification of starch, this study used CaCl2 to modify maize starch by surface gelatinization, further combined with CP treatment and characterized its multi-scale structure and physicochemical properties. The results revealed that starch surface gelatinization causes roughness and fragmentation on the granule surface, and CP undergoes etching effects. The synergistic modification promotes starch degradation, as evidenced by molecular weight decrease and short-chain ratio increase. Although the growth rings, FT-IR patterns, and crystal types of starch remained unchanged, the synergistic modification induced a reduction in the short-range orderliness and crystallinity of starch, thus causing a decrease in the pasting properties and contributing to its solubility. Notably, the CP treatment improved the RDS and SDS contents of the gelatinized starch due to more active sites on the granule surface after gelatinization, and this finding may provide insight into the deep processing of starch.

Recent Developments and Applications of Microbial Levan, A Versatile Polysaccharide-Based Biopolymer

Polysaccharides are essential components with diverse functions in living organisms and find widespread applications in various industries. They serve as food additives, stabilizers, thickeners, and fat substitutes in the food industry, while also contributing to dietary fiber for improved digestion and gut health. Plant-based polysaccharides are utilized in paper, textiles, wound dressings, biodegradable packaging, and tissue regeneration. Polysaccharides play a crucial role in medicine, pharmacy, and cosmetology, as well as in the production of biofuels and biomaterials. Among microbial biopolymers, microbial levan, a fructose polysaccharide, holds significant promise due to its high productivity and chemical diversity. Levan exhibits a wide range of properties, including film-forming ability, biodegradability, non-toxicity, self-aggregation, encapsulation, controlled release capacity, water retention, immunomodulatory and prebiotic activity, antimicrobial and anticancer activity, as well as high biocompatibility. These exceptional properties position levan as an attractive candidate for nature-based materials in food production, modern cosmetology, medicine, and pharmacy. Advancing the understanding of microbial polymers and reducing production costs is crucial to the future development of these fields. By further exploring the potential of microbial biopolymers, particularly levan, we can unlock new opportunities for sustainable materials and innovative applications that benefit various industries and contribute to advancements in healthcare, environmental conservation, and biotechnology.

A pH-sensitive intelligent packaging film harnessing Dioscorea zingiberensis starch and anthocyanin for meat freshness monitoring

Abundant starch was isolated from Dioscorea zingiberensis C.H. Wright, a novel and underutilized industrial crop resource. In this study, an intelligent packaging film able to indicate food freshness was developed and characterized. D. zingiberensis starch (DZS) was bleached first, and its particle size, total starch content, amylose content, and gelatinization temperature were then measured. Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea Linn.) flowers were selected as the source of polyphenols, which rendered the prepared film intelligent and progressively blue-violet. SEM and FT-IR analyses showed the homogeneous dispersion of butterfly pea flower extract (BPE) in the film. The BPE-loaded film showed improved flexibility and resistance to UV and oxidation while maintaining sufficient mechanical strength and physical properties. Moreover, the film underwent a distinguishable color change from red to blue-violet and finally to green-yellow with increasing pH from 2 to 13. Similar color alteration also occurred when the film was exposed to ammonia. When the film was used to monitor the freshness of chicken stored at room temperature, it exhibited an obvious color change, implying its deterioration. Therefore, the newly developed BPE-DZS film, which was produced from readily accessible natural substances, can serve as an intelligent packaging material, indicating food freshness and prolonging shelf life.

Thermogravimetric, Morphological and Infrared Analysis of Blends Involving Thermoplastic Starch and Poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) and Its Ionomer Form

This study focuses on the thermal properties and structural features of blends consisting of thermoplastic starch (TPS) and poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer (EMAA) or its ionomer form (EMAA-54Na). The aim is to investigate how carboxylate functional groups of the ionomer form intervene in blends compatibility at the interface of the two materials and how this impacts their properties. Two series of blends (TPS/EMAA and TPS/EMAA-54Na) were produced with an internal mixer, with TPS compositions between 5 and 90 wt%. Thermogravimetry shows two main weight losses, indicating that TPS and the two copolymers are primarily immiscible. However, a small weight loss existing at intermediate degradation temperature between those of the two pristine components reveals specific interactions at the interface. At a mesoscale level, scanning electron microscopy confirmed thermogravimetry results and showed a two-phase domain morphology, with a phase inversion at around 80 wt% TPS, but also revealed a different surface appearance evolution between the two series. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy analysis also revealed discrepancies in fingerprint between the two series of blends, analysed in terms of additional interactions in TPS/EMAA-54Na coming from the supplementary sodium neutralized carboxylate functions of the ionomer.

Construction of caffeic acid modified porous starch as the dual-functional microcapsule for encapsulation and antioxidant property

A dual-functional food-grade microcapsule, which was constructed by caffeic acid and porous starch was obtained. Caffeic acid modified porous starch (CA-PS) was accordingly synthesized successfully by esterification. Carbonyl signal observed by ¹³C solid state NMR (170 ppm) and FT-IR (1745 cm^-1), indicating the formation of ester bond. BET of CA-PS was determined as 44.8 m²/g by N₂ adsorption analysis. The results proved CA-PS has both excellent adsorption and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, it has been applied for encapsulation of linoleic acid (LA) to prevent its degradation effectively, because LA adsorbed in porous adsorbents without antioxidant activity may still suffer serious oxidation. Besides, ¹H NMR Integral of LA did not show a significant decay. This observation demonstrated CA-PS indeed has the better performance on protection of LA than PS. We expect this work will boost research on designing and employing multi-functional starchy materials for further applications.

Physicochemical properties of A- and B-type granules isolated from waxy and normal hull-less barley starch

Large A-type and small B-type starch granules separated from waxy and normal hull-less barley starches were investigated for their physicochemical properties. Hull-less barley starch granules were covered by a membrane composed mainly of phospholipids. Channels of waxy A- and B-type granules were rich in proteins and phospholipids. Compared with A-type starch, B-type starch exhibited higher specific surface area, volume and average diameter of mesopores. Waxy A-type granules exhibited the higher peak, breakdown, final and setback viscosity than did B-type granules, while normal A-type granules showed the lower peak, breakdown, final viscosity and the higher setback viscosity than did B-type granules. B-type starch gels with lower storage modulus exhibited a less elastic gel network structure and retrograded more slowly. Moreover, in vitro hydrolysis of starch showed that the B-type granules exhibited a higher hydrolysis extent and rate than the A-type granules in the first stage, which was consistent with higher initial α-amylase binding ability of B-type granules. The study showed that the A-type and B-type starch separated from waxy and normal hull-less barley exhibited very different physicochemical properties.

Extruded Enzyme-Added Corn Improves the Growth Performance, Intestinal Function, and Microbiome of Weaning Piglets

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of extruded corn with added amylase under different moisture conditions on the growth performance, intestinal function, and microbiome of weaning piglets. Fourty-eight 24-day-old weaning piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire, weaned at 22 ± 1 d) with an initial body weight of 6.76 ± 0.15 kg were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments with six replicates per treatment and two pigs per replicate: (1) NL (adding 7.5% water before corn extrusion, negative treatment with low moisture); (2) NH (adding 15.0% water before corn extrusion, negative treatment with high moisture); (3) PL (adding 7.5% water and 4 kg/t α-amylase before corn extrusion, positive treatment with low moisture); and (4) PH (adding 15% water and 4 kg/t α-amylase before corn extrusion, positive treatment with high moisture). Results showed that amylase supplementation (4 vs. 0 kg/t) increased the contents of small molecular oligosaccharides of extruded corn (p < 0.05). Amylase supplementation significantly improved the average daily feed intake, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter, crude protein, gross energy, crude fat, ash, phosphorus, and calcium, and also increased the activities of jejunal trypsin, α-amylase, lipase, sucrase, maltase, γ-glutamyl transferase and alkaline phosphatase activities, improved the duodenal, jejunal and ileal morphology, and increased the relative mRNA expressions of the ZO-1, OCLN, SGLT1, and GLUT2 genes in the jejunum (p < 0.05), whereas it decreased the contents of isobutyric acid in cecal digesta, as well as acetic acid and isobutyric acid in colonic digesta (p < 0.05). Moreover, the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) showed that piglets fed extruded corn with added enzymes contained less intestinal pathogenic bacteria, such as Holdemanella and Desulfovibrio, compared with piglets fed just extruded corn. In summary, the results of the present study indicated that the supplementation of α-amylase during the conditioning and extruding process of corn increased the small molecular oligosaccharide content of corn starch. Moreover, piglets receiving extruded enzyme-added corn had better growth performance, which was associated with the improved intestinal digestive and absorptive function, as well as the intestinal microbiome.

Using Carboxymethyl Cellulose as the Additive With Enzyme-Catalyzed Carboxylated Starch to Prepare the Film With Enhanced Mechanical and Hydrophobic Properties

Carboxymethyl cellulose, a hydrophobic derivative from cellulose that can be prepared from different biomass, has been widely applied in food, medicine, chemical, and other industries. In this work, carboxymethyl cellulose was used as the additive to improve the hydrophobicity and strength of carboxylated starch film, which is prepared from starch catalyzed by bio-α-amylase. This study investigated the effects of different bio-α-amylase dosages (starch 0.5%, starch 1%) and different activation times (10, 30 min) on starch to prepare the carboxylated starch. The effects of different carboxymethyl cellulose content on the carboxylated starch film were investigated by analysis viscosity, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and contact angle. The results showed that preparing carboxylated starch using activated starch increased the carboxyl content, which could improve the effectiveness of the activated enzyme compared to prolonging the activation time. The carboxyl starch prepared by enzyme catalysis had a lower gelatinization temperature, and enzyme activation destroyed the crystallization area of the starch, thus facilitating the carboxylation reaction. The addition of 15% carboxymethyl cellulose improved the mechanical properties of the prepared film with maximum tensile strength of 44.8 MPa. Carboxymethyl cellulose effectively improved the hydrophobicity of the starch film with the addition amount of 10–30%, while hydrophobic property was stable at 66.8° when the addition amount was exceeded to 35%. In this work, it can be found that carboxymethyl cellulose improve the mechanical and hydrophobic properties of starch film, laying the foundation for the application of carboxylated starch materials.