Complexation of chitosan-modified porous starch with chlorogenic acid to form ternary gels: Multiscale structural...

Various food additives can delay starch retrogradation, but research on their mechanisms affecting the multiscale structure and retrogradation behavior of starch gels is lacking. This work introduces porous starch (PS), chitosan (CTS), and chlorogenic acid (CA) and modulates their interactions to develop a ternary gel system with reduced retrogradation and enhanced storage stability. Porous chitosan-modified starch (PS-CTS) with a stable multi-layered structure was prepared, achieving 68 % CA adsorption and minimizing its thermal degradation. A PS-CTS-CA ternary gel with strong hydrogen bonding was constructed through thermal induction, showing a uniform and dense porous network structure, low long- and short-range orders, and high viscoelasticity and water retention. CTS and CA synergistically inhibited starch chain alignment, reducing water migration and retrogradation degree (Rd, with Rd₂₈ decreasing by 35 % at 28 days) during storage, improving storage stability significantly. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the development of stable and high-performance starch-based gel foods.