Recent trends in harnessing potential techniques for the functionalization of granular cold-water swelling starch...

Granular cold-water swelling starch (GCWS), modified using advanced techniques, has attracted greater attention due to its wide range of applications in food additives, drug delivery matrices, oleogelators, mucoadhesive systems, and 3D printing technology. Alkali-based methods are commonly adopted for GCWS preparation, but they possess certain limitations. To overcome these obstacles, researchers have attempted to prepare GCWS using non-conventional approaches, including treatments with organic acids/varying pH, enzymes, salts/sugars, octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA), pulsed electric field (PEF), cold plasma, electron beam irradiation (EBI), ultrasonication, and electrostatic coupled gel (ECG). The present review describes the progressive approaches employed for the modification of GCWS prepared using alkali-based protocols, including a comprehensive overview of their mechanisms of action, improved functionalities, emerging applications, safety aspects, challenges, opportunities, and future outlook. Compared to conventionally prepared starch, modified GCWS offer certain advantages in production efficiency and enhanced properties, particularly in terms of rapid hydration, anti-retrogradation, enzymolysis, oil structuring, bioadhesion, and thixotropy. This highlights the great potential of advanced approaches to address the shortcomings of GCWS fabricated using traditional alkali-based protocols. Overall, the present review establishes that integrating alkali-based methods with cutting-edge techniques could facilitate the development of GCWS with enhanced features for a wide range of industrial applications.