Effects of Chemical and Enzymatic Modifications on Starch–Stearic Acid Complex Formation

Abstract

Debranched unacetylated and acetylated potato starches with two degrees of substitution, 0.041 (low) and 0.078 (high), combined with or without β-amylase hydrolysis were prepared to form soluble and insoluble complexes with stearic acid. The effects of modifications on the complexation, thermal properties, and X-ray patterns of soluble and insoluble complexes were investigated. Acetylation decreased the recovery of insoluble complexes but increased that of soluble complexes. Low acetylated, β-amylase-treated starch had a significantly increased amount of complexed stearic acid (123.1 mg/g) for insoluble complexes; high acetylated, β-amylase-treated starch had the highest complexed stearic acid (61.2 mg/g) for the soluble complexes. The melting temperature of the complexes decreased with acetylation. All β-amylase-treated acetylated complexes displayed the V-type diffraction pattern with peaks at 2θ = 7.4°, 12.9°, and 20°. These results suggest that starch can be modified by acetylation, debranching, and/or β-amylase to produce significant quantities of soluble starch-stearic acid complexes.