Improving the emulsification properties of corn starch by esterification combined with freeze-thawing and enzymatic treatment

Run Ji; Jieli Xu; Yuhe Yu; Shuang Song; Xiuling Zhang; Wentao Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142664

Improving the emulsification properties of corn starch by esterification combined with freeze-thawing and enzymatic treatment

Food Chem. 2024 Dec 26:470:142664. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142664. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Run Ji¹, Jieli Xu², Yuhe Yu¹, Shuang Song¹, Xiuling Zhang³, Wentao Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150030, PR China.
² Department of Crop Science in Agricultural Science, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, Heilongjiang 163316, PR China.
³ College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150030, PR China. Electronic address: zhangxiuling1968@126.com.
⁴ College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150030, PR China. Electronic address: zhangwentaoneau@126.com.

PMID: 39740429
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142664

Abstract

In this study, high performance porous starch was prepared by combining freeze-thawing and enzymatic hydrolysis with the aim of evaluating its potential as a starch emulsifier in Pickering emulsions. The results indicate that the combined treatment significantly altered the specific surface area of starch (from 0.3257 m²/g to 1.5634 m²/g), pore volume (from 0.734 × 10^-3 cm³/g to 3.967 × 10^-3 cm³/g), crystallinity (from 23.35 % to 19.55 %), and the ratio of amylose to amylopectin content (from 3.44 % to 15.86 %). In comparison to native starch, the degree of substitution (DS) of the modified porous starch increased by 53.3 % to 127.6 %, and esterification was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. In particular, OFE (-80 °C) exhibited excellent emulsifying activity and emulsion stability due to its small particle size (6.06 μm), near-neutral wettability (74.2°) and high DS (0.034). These results demonstrate the potential of OSA-modified porous starches for emulsion stabilization.

Keywords: Emulsion; Enzymatic modification; Freeze-thawing; OSA-modification; Porous corn starch.