A novel pectin-crosslinked β-cyclodextrin complex for effectively reducing cholesterol content in beef tallow:...

To mitigate health risks from high cholesterol in beef tallow, we developed a novel pectin-crosslinked β-cyclodextrin complex with efficient cholesterol removal through cross-linking. Its successful synthesis was confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and X-ray diffraction. The complex removed 74.69% of cholesterol in beef tallow. Structural characterization revealed that the complex exhibited a porous, crumpled morphology and enhanced thermal stability (Tpeak: 113.59 °C) compared with pristine β-cyclodextrin (104.72 °C). Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the complex adopted a stable tilted semi-encapsulated configuration (adsorption energy: -1.12 eV). Adsorption energy calculation results revealed the formation of two intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the complex and cholesterol, with an adsorption energy of -0.62 eV, thereby confirming that cholesterol removal is a non-covalent-driven physical process, with the ternary complex showing higher thermal stability. This study provides insight into the development of a promising strategy for cholesterol removal and elucidates the molecular-level structure-activity relationship.