Digestive characteristics and structural changes of lotus seed starch-lotus seed protein blend system during in vitro...

This study analyzes the digestive characteristics, morphological changes, particle size distribution, and the evolution of crystalline and molecular structures of the lotus seed starch-lotus seed protein blend system (LS-LP) through simulated in vitro static and dynamic digestion experiments. The findings indicate that LS-LP, treated by high-pressure homogenization (HPH), exhibits a higher digestion rate and total digestibility compared to the physical mixture of lotus seed starch and protein (PM) and lotus seed starch (LS). Interestingly, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations reveal that during digestion, the structure of lotus seed protein (LP) changes, forming a physical barrier to LS, thereby partially slowing down the digestion process. Furthermore, the transformation in particle size distribution (PSD) from unimodal to bimodal, the progressive increase in crystallinity observed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and the structural alterations in LP identified by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) provide additional confirmation of the structural changes of LS-LP during digestion. In summary, this study provides a new insight for the digestive characteristics and structural changes of LS-LP during in vitro digestion, and offers a scientific basis for further research on the impact of LS-LP digestion products on gut microbiota.