Ethanol promoted lauric acid interaction with rice starch during steaming

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Biochemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Starch digestibility can be reduced by forming inclusion complexes with fatty acids, but methods avoiding extensive mechanical treatment are needed.
• Understanding the interaction between fatty acids and starch is crucial for developing functional food ingredients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of synchronous complexation of lauric acid (LA) and ethanol on starch structure and digestibility during steaming.
• To explore mechanisms enhancing starch-fatty acid interactions without intensive mechanical processing.

Main Methods:

• Synchronous complexation of lauric acid and ethanol with starch during steaming.
• Analysis of starch structure, including ordered structures, single helix, and V-type crystals.
• Determination of resistant starch (RS) content.
• Dynamic simulations to understand the interaction mechanisms between lauric acid, ethanol, and starch.

Main Results:

• Complexation with either ethanol or LA alone increased RS content from 13.17% to 19.60%-24.58%.
• Synchronous complexation of LA and ethanol synergistically enhanced single helix and V-type crystal formation, increasing RS to 28.75%-35.21%.
• Ethanol initially increased LA solubility, facilitating monomer formation, but its evaporation during steaming promoted thermostable LA-starch complexation.

Conclusions:

• Synchronous complexation of lauric acid and ethanol offers a viable method to enhance starch-fatty acid interactions and reduce starch digestibility.
• This approach provides a pathway for creating slowly digestible starch without extensive mechanical treatment.
• The findings contribute to the development of functional food ingredients with modified nutritional properties.