Development of salecan/konjac glucomannan biogels: Insights into advanced rheology, thermal behavior, and model...

Salecan, an exopolysaccharide secreted by Agrobacterium sp. ZX09 has been approved as a novel food ingredient in China and has garnered significant attention in food and biopharmaceutical applications due to its excellent rheological and biological regulatory capabilities. In this study, salecan was combined with deacetylated konjac glucomannan to design multifunctional hydrogels (KGSs) via a thermal crosslinking method suitable for mass production. This approach addressed konjac glucomannan's limitations, including poor mechanics, high viscosity, and processing challenges. Comprehensive thermal and rheological analysis revealed distinct viscoelasticity, shear thinning, self-recovery, and creep behaviors. KGSE had the lowest activation energy (25.9 kJ/mol), KGSD showed maximum creep compliance (1.003 1/Pa) and freezing resistance (-19.8 °C), while KGSA exhibited the highest recovery rate (71.4 %). This first study on Salecan/Konjac composite biogels highlights their low-temperature resistance, ease of processing, and self-recovering properties, offering insights for future research and applications in active ingredient transport, food preservation, and biomedical fields.