Inclusion Complexes between Starch and Vanillin

Abstract

Vanillin is an additive widely used in foods and beverages. This research focused on formation of inclusion complexes to improve the stability of vanillin. The amylose in starch can act as a host molecule by forming a single helix known as V-amylose which has a hydrophobic channel. In this research, the starch was suspended in water (2.8% (w/v)) and was sonicated for 30 minutes. The mixture was subsequently heated at 180 °C to dissolve starch. Vanillin dissolved in ethanol was then mixed with the starch solution at around 85 °C. The concentration of vanillin was varied at 10%, 30% and 50% (w/w, based on the weight of starch). The resulting inclusion complexes were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). FTIR characterizations were conducted on starch, vanillin, physical mixture of starch-vanillin, and the inclusion complexes. The results showed there were differences on some vibration peaks between the physical mixture of starch-vanillin and the inclusion complex. The XRD results depicted different patterns of the diffraction peaks for the inclusion complexes compared to native starch and vanillin which showed that the starch-vanillin complexes were successfully formed.