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Updated: Aug 20, 2025

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Published on: June 6, 2025
Efficient Retention and Complexation of Exogenous Ferulic Acid in Starch: Could Controllable Bioextrusion Be the
Shuohan Ma1, Qingqing Zhu1, Siyu Yao1
1College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Integrated Research Base of Southern Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Technology, Fuli Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou310058, China.
Abstract:
The starch-phenolics complexes are widely fabricated as functional foods but with low phenolics retention limited by traditional liquid reaction and washing systems. In this study, ferulic acid (FA, 5%) was exogenously used in the crystalline form, and it reacted with starch in a high-solid extrusion environment, which was simultaneously controlled by thermostable α-amylase (0-252 U/g). Moderate enzymolysis (21 or 63 U/g) decreased the degree of the starch double helix and significantly increased the FA retention rate (>80%) with good melting and distribution. Although there were no significantly strong chemical bonds (with only 0.17-2.39% FA bound to starch hydrolysate), the noncovalent interactions, mainly hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, and electrostatic interactions, were determined by 1H NMR and molecular dynamics simulation analyses. The phased release of total FA (>50% in the stomach and ∼100% in the intestines) from bioextrudate under in vitro digestion conditions was promoted, which gives a perspective for handing large loads of FA and other phenolics based on starch carrier.

