Gelatinization, Retrogradation and Gel Properties of Wheat Starch-Wheat Bran Arabinoxylan Complexes

Recent advances of wheat bran arabinoxylan exploitation as the functional dough additive

Wheat bran is a significant byproduct of wheat flour milling and is enriched with dietary fiber. Arabinoxylan (AX), the major constituent of dietary fiber, plays a crucial role in the nutrition and processing of cereal food. This review comprehensively focuses on AX as a functional additive, specifically addressing its fractionation methods, structural characteristics, techno-functionality, and interactions with dough components. Structural features such as molecular weight (Mw), branching degree, and ferulic acid (FA) content significantly influence the functionality of AX, affecting gluten protein and starch characteristics during cereal food processing. Specifically, studies have shown that AX with optimum Mw and FA levels improved dough rheology and gas retention during bread-making. Furthermore, the solubility of AX varies across wheat bran fractions, with soluble AX fractions demonstrating notable dough-improving properties. By integrating structural complexity with functional properties, this review highlights the promising applications of wheat bran AX as a sustainable, functional dough additive.

Integrative experimental and computational analysis of the impact of KGM's polymerization degree on wheat starch's pasting and retrogradation characteristics

This study investigated the influence of Konjac Glucomannan (KGM) with varying degrees of polymerization (DKGMx) on the gelatinization and retrogradation characteristics of wheat starch, providing new insights into starch-polysaccharide interactions. This research uniquely focuses on the effects of DKGMx, utilizing multidisciplinary approaches including Rapid Visco Analysis (RVA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), rheological testing, Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF-NMR), and molecular simulations to assess the effects of DKGMx on gelatinization temperature, viscosity, structural changes post-retrogradation, and molecular interactions. Our findings revealed that higher degrees of polymerization (DP) of DKGMx significantly enhanced starch's pasting viscosity and stability, whereas lower DP reduced viscosity and interfered with retrogradation. High DP DKGMx promoted retrogradation by modifying moisture distribution. Molecular simulations revealed the interplay between low DP DKGMx and starch molecules. These interactions, characterized by increased hydrogen bonds and tighter binding to more starch chains, inhibited starch molecular rearrangement. Specifically, low DP DKGMx established a dense hydrogen bond network with starch, significantly restricting molecular mobility and rearrangement. This study provides new insights into the role of the DP of DKGMx in modulating wheat starch's properties, offering valuable implications for the functional improvement of starch-based foods and advancing starch science.

Valorisation of apple pomace for the development of high-fibre and polyphenol-rich wheat flour cookies

Apple pomace, abundant in dietary fibre and polyphenols, often goes unutilized, contributing to environmental pollution as it is discarded in open fields of Jammu and Kashmir. This study aimed to develop functional cookies fortified with apple pomace powder (APP), an industrial by-product. Wheat flour-APP formulations (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) were assessed. APP addition notably affected color values and functional properties, enhancing water and oil absorption capacities, swelling power, foam capacity and stability. Phenolic content increased significantly (p < 0.05) post-fortification, elevating antioxidant properties. FT-IR spectroscopy identified distinctive chemical components in wheat flour and APP. Sensory evaluation favored cookies with 10% APP, indicating their potential for consumer acceptance. Thus, APP shows promise for producing innovative functional cookies, improving consumer health, utilizing industrial by-products, and reducing waste from apple processing plants, thereby mitigating environmental pollution.

Application and functional properties of millet starch: Wet milling extraction process and different modification approaches

In the past decade, the demand and interest of consumers have expanded for using plant-based novel starch sources in different food and non-food processing. Therefore, millet-based value-added functional foods are acquired spare attention due to their excellent nutritional, medicinal, and therapeutic properties. Millet is mainly composed of starch (amylose and amylopectin), which is primary component of the millet grain and defines the quality of millet-based food products. Millet contains approximately 70 % starch of the total grain, which can be used as a, ingredient, thickening agent, binding agent, and stabilizer commercially due to its functional attributes. The physical, chemical, and enzymatic methods are used to extract starch from millet and other cereals. Numerous ways, such as non-thermal physical processes, including ultrasonication, HPP (High pressure processing) high-pressure, PEF (Pulsed electric field), and irradiation are used for modification of millet starch and improve functional properties compared to native starch. In the present review, different databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Science Direct, Web of Science, and PubMed were used to collect research articles, review articles, book chapters, reports, etc., for detailed study about millet starch, their extraction (wet milling process) and modification methods such as physical, chemical, biological. The impact of different modification approaches on the techno-functional properties of millet starch and their applications in different sectors have also been reviewed. The data and information created and aggregated in this study will give users the necessary knowledge to further utilize millet starch for value addition and new product development.

Modified polysaccharides for food packaging applications: A review

Development of new food packaging materials is crucial to reduce the use of single-use plastics and to limit their destructive impact on the environment. Polysaccharides provide an alternative solution to this problem. This paper summarizes and discusses recent research results on the potential of modifying polysaccharides as materials for film and coating applications. Modifications of polysaccharides significantly affect their properties, as well as their application usability. Although modifications of biopolymers for packaging applications have been widely studied, polysaccharides have attracted little attention despite being a prospective, environmentally friendly, and economically viable packaging alternative. Therefore, this paper discusses approaches to the development of biodegradable, polysaccharide-based food packaging materials and focuses on modifications of four polysaccharides, such as starch, chitosan, sodium alginate and cellulose. In addition, these modifications are presented not only in terms of the selected polysaccharide, but also in terms of specific properties, i.e. hydrophilic, barrier and mechanical properties, of polysaccharides. Such a presentation of results makes it much easier to select the modification method to improve the unsatisfactory properties of the material. Moreover, very often it happens that the applied modification improves one and worsens another property, which is also presented in this review.

Extraction, physicochemical characterization, functionality, and excipient ability of corn fiber gum-starch isolate from corn milling industry waste

Corn processing industries generate an extensive fibrous byproduct consisting of corn fiber gum (CFG) and residual starch (S). The present study hypothesized that CFG and S could be isolated as a single crosslinked conjugate. The isolated CFG-S conjugate was acidic, with a pKa value of 11.49, and a swelling index of 99.60%. Henderson-Hasselbalch equation predicted negligible ionization throughout the gastrointestinal pH range. The DSC thermogram highlights glass transition and temperature-specific structure stabilization through the exothermic crystallization domain. FTIR, SEM & XRD confirmed the structural conjugation and integrity of the conjugate. Tablets containing Venlafaxine hydrochloride as a model drug were prepared using CFG-S (14 and 57%) as excipient by wet granulation method. Percentage cumulative drug release with low concentration was up to 99.67175 ± 0.09 % in 5 h whereas with high concentration, it was extended to 12 h (P < 0.05). Korsemayer-Peppas release exponent indicates zero order (R2 = 0.9935) kinetics with super case-II anomalous transport showing diffusion and erosion as drug release mechanisms. The results confirmed that CFG-S isolate could act as a good binding agent at low concentrations and release extending cross-linked matrix former at a higher concentration for release retardant excipient.

QbD Design, Formulation, Optimization and Evaluation of Trans-Tympanic Reverse Gelatination Gel of Norfloxacin: Investigating Gene-Gene Interactions to Enhance Therapeutic Efficacy

Traditional otic drug delivery methods lack controlled release capabilities, making reverse gelatination gels a promising alternative. Reverse gelatination gels are colloidal systems that transition from a sol to a gel phase at the target site, providing controlled drug release over an extended period. Thermosensitive norfloxacin reverse gelatination gels were developed using a Quality by Design (QbD)-based optimization approach. The formulations were evaluated for their in vitro release profile, rheological behavior, visual appearance, pH, gelling time, and sol-gel transition temperature. The results show that the gelation temperatures of the formulations ranged from 33 to 37 °C, with gelling durations between 35 and 90 s. The drug content in the formulations was uniform, with entrapment efficiency ranging from 55% to 95%. Among the formulations, F10 exhibited the most favorable properties and was selected for a stability study lasting 60 days. Ex-vivo release data demonstrate that the F10 formulation achieved 95.6percentage of drug release at 360 min. This study successfully developed thermosensitive norfloxacin reverse gelatination gels using a QbD-based optimization approach. The selected formulation, F10, exhibited desirable properties in terms of gelling temperature, drug content, and release profile. These gels hold potential for the controlled delivery of norfloxacin in the treatment of ear infections.

Effect of high-pressure homogenisation-modified bacterial cellulose on rice starch retrogradation

Delaying rice starch (RS) retrogradation can improve the quality parameters of rice-based starchy foods during storage. Modification of insoluble dietary fibre has always been used in the starchy food industry. Compared with vegetal insoluble dietary fibre, bacterial cellulose (BC) has many advantages such as high purity, smaller particle size, and elevated water absorption capacity. In the present work, BC was modified by high-pressure homogenisation (MBC) with different pressure levels (0, 50, 80, 120, and 160 MPa) to investigate the effect of MBC on RS retrogradation. Results showed that high-pressure homogenisation could decrease the particle size of BC. MBC addition to RS decreased paste breakdown and setback, thus suggesting that MBC might be a good candidate for increasing the stability of RS paste, and inhibiting its short-term retrogradation. The thermal properties and X-ray diffraction patterns of RS indicated that supplementing MBC could decrease the gelatinised enthalpy and relative crystallinity of RS paste during storage. Results also indicated that MBC could provide an opportunity to restrain RS retrogradation, and might be suitable for designing fibre-enriched products.

Insights on Some Polysaccharide Gel Type Materials and Their Structural Peculiarities

Global resources have to be used in responsible ways to ensure the world's future need for advanced materials. Ecologically friendly functional materials based on biopolymers can be successfully obtained from renewable resources, and the most prominent example is cellulose, the well-known most abundant polysaccharide which is usually isolated from highly available biomass (wood and wooden waste, annual plants, cotton, etc.). Many other polysaccharides originating from various natural resources (plants, insects, algae, bacteria) proved to be valuable and versatile starting biopolymers for a wide array of materials with tunable properties, able to respond to different societal demands. Polysaccharides properties vary depending on various factors (origin, harvesting, storage and transportation, strategy of further modification), but they can be processed into materials with high added value, as in the case of gels. Modern approaches have been employed to prepare (e.g., the use of ionic liquids as "green solvents") and characterize (NMR and FTIR spectroscopy, X ray diffraction spectrometry, DSC, electronic and atomic force microscopy, optical rotation, circular dichroism, rheological investigations, computer modelling and optimization) polysaccharide gels. In the present paper, some of the most widely used polysaccharide gels will be briefly reviewed with emphasis on their structural peculiarities under various conditions.

Impact of Konjac Glucomannan with Different Molecular Weight on Retrogradation Properties of Pea Starch

The impact of konjac glucomannan (KGM) with different molecular weight (Mw) on the retrogradation properties of pea starch, such as color, viscoelasticity, gel strength, water holding capacity (WHC), moisture distribution and crystallinity, was investigated. At the same time as the Mw of KGM decreased, the lightness, elastic modulus, gel strength, water freedom and crystallinity of pea starch showed an increasing trend, whereas the viscosity modulus and WHC showed a decreasing trend. At one day of storage, compared with single pea starch, KGM with low Mw made gel strength increase from 40 g to 45 g, WHC decrease from 82% to 65% and crystallinity increase from 21.3% to 24.0%. Therefore, KGM with low Mw could promote retrogradation of pea starch in the short-term. At 7 days or even 14 days of storage, KGM with medium-high Mw had smaller indices than those of pure pea starch, including the lightness, storage modulus, gel strength, water freedom and crystallinity. This indicated that KGM with medium-high Mw could inhibit the long-term retrogradation of starch. The larger the Mw of KGM, the more noticeable the inhibition effect.

Valorization of Starch to Biobased Materials: A Review

Many concerns are being expressed about the biodegradability, biocompatibility, and long-term viability of polymer-based substances. This prompted the quest for an alternative source of material that could be utilized for various purposes. Starch is widely used as a thickener, emulsifier, and binder in many food and non-food sectors, but research focuses on increasing its application beyond these areas. Due to its biodegradability, low cost, renewability, and abundance, starch is considered a "green path" raw material for generating porous substances such as aerogels, biofoams, and bioplastics, which have sparked an academic interest. Existing research has focused on strategies for developing biomaterials from organic polymers (e.g., cellulose), but there has been little research on its polysaccharide counterpart (starch). This review paper highlighted the structure of starch, the context of amylose and amylopectin, and the extraction and modification of starch with their processes and limitations. Moreover, this paper describes nanofillers, intelligent pH-sensitive films, biofoams, aerogels of various types, bioplastics, and their precursors, including drying and manufacturing. The perspectives reveal the great potential of starch-based biomaterials in food, pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, and non-food applications.

Current trends in the preparation, characterization and applications of oat starch - A review

Worldwide consumption of oats is gaining popularity due to its composition and multifunctional benefits of individual components. Oat starch being the major component accounts up to 60% of the dry weight of kernel, possess small granule size and high lipid content. Properties of starch substantially affect the quality of the product. Modification and characterization of starch is important for their specific applications that increase the utilization of oat starch. Different modification techniques greatly affect the functional, pasting, gelatinisation, textural, rheological, retrogradation properties and enzymatic digestibility of oat starches in comparison to native starch. Modified oat starch competes against other abundant and inexpensive cereal starches (rice and corn) that are available in modified forms in the market. This review summarises the current knowledge of physicochemical, morphological, pasting, functional, rheological and gelatinization properties, developments in the extraction and modification (physical, chemical and enzymatic) and applications of oat starch. Thus, this review will upgrade the scientific basis on oat starch being a unique source of starch for variety of applications.