Modification of polysaccharides with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA): Reaction, effect on their functional...

The use of biopolymers, particularly polysaccharides like cellulose, starch, chitosan, and gums, has seen a significant rise in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries, due to their biodegradable and non-toxic nature. However, their hydrophilic properties limit their functional versatility. To address this limitation, the modification of these biopolymers with hydrophobic substituents, such as OSA, has become a topic of great interest. This review summarizes recent advances in OSA modification of natural carbohydrates, focusing on key parameters such as reaction medium, mechanism, temperature, pH, time, polymer concentration, and OSA-to-polymer ratio. The impact of OSA modification on the physicochemical and functional properties of polysaccharides is discussed, emphasizing on their potential applications as emulsifiers, gelling and foaming agents and film-forming materials. Notably, OSA-modification has reported to enhance the emulsifying capacity of polysaccharides by 40-100 % and the foaming capacity by 20-100 %, thereby enabling their application as stabilizers in beverages, cosmetic products and pharmaceutical formulations.