Effect of Trehalose on the Properties of Potato Starch - Lycium barbarum Polysaccharide Composite Gel

• Published in: Food biophysics 2024-03, Vol.19 (1), p.85-95
• Main Authors: Li, Haichuan, Hu, Kailei, Chen, Junran, Hu, Yunfeng, Han, Jian, Xing, Haoran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amylose; Analytical Chemistry; Biological and Medical Physics; Biophysics; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; crystal structure; Food Science; Freeze thaw cycles; Freezing; gelation; Gels; hardness; ingredients; Loss modulus; Lycium barbarum; Polysaccharides; potato starch; Potatoes; retrogradation; Rheological properties; Rheology; Short range order; Stability analysis; Starch; Syneresis; temperature; Thawing; Trehalose; Viscosity
• ISSN: 1557-1858; 1557-1866
• DOI: 10.1007/s11483-023-09802-w

In this study, the effect of trehalose on the structural and gelation properties of fresh and stored potato starch/ Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (POS/LBP) composite gels was investigated. The pasting properties of the LBP/POS composite were modified by trehalose, where the pasting temperature, peak viscosity, trough viscosity, and final viscosity of the composite are all increased significantly with the addition of the trehalose in a concentration-dependent manner. The rheology properties of the POS/LBP gel were also significantly affected by trehalose but in a different way before and after storage. The addition of trehalose increased both the storage and loss modulus of the fresh gel but decreased those dynamic moduli after storage for 21 days at 4 °C. Moreover, trehalose had minimal effect on the hardness of the fresh gel but significantly weakened it after storage. SEM analysis further confirmed that the stored composite with 10% trehalose had a porous and thin network compared to the control. On the other hand, the composite gel had a lower syneresis value when trehalose was added. This effect was greatly enhanced during repeated freezing and thawing cycles, suggesting the ability of trehalose to improve the gel stability during storage. As revealed by FTIR and XRD analysis, the relative crystallinity and short-range order of the POS during storage were decreased by trehalose, suggesting that trehalose could potentially inhibit the amylose retrogradation. Overall, this study showed that trehalose is a promising functional ingredient for modifying the structural and gel properties of POS-based gel. Graphical Abstract