Optimization and Characterization of Porous Starch from Corn Starch and Application Studies in Emulsion Stabilization

Abstract

Preparation of porous starch (PS) from corn starch (NS) using enzymes amylase (AM) and amyloglucosidase (AMG) was standardized using two factorial experimental design in terms of surface area and pore size distribution. SEM micrographs confrmed the formation of porous structures in the granules. Based on surface area, pore size and statistical analysis 300 U AM and 250 U AMG for 6 h incubation were suggested for porous starch preparation. Physicochemical characteristics of NS and PS were compared using zeta potential, contact angle, rheology, FTIR, XRD, and DSC which suggested the potential of PS as a stabilizer for O/W emulsions. Further studies confrmed emulsion stabilizing efcacy of PS with creaming index of 5.0% against 16.6% for NS. The fuorescence microscopy images of the emulsion after staining with specifc dyes revealed that PS acts as a Pickering particle. Furthermore, studies using curcumin as model system indicated that PS acts as better bioactive carrier as compared to NS. The curcumin holding capacities of PS and NS were 82.24±1.07 and 61.03±1.43%, respectively. The study suggested that PS can be efectively used as Pickering particle and bioactive carrier in various food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications.