Effects of chemical and enzymatic modifications on starch-linoleic acid complex formation

• Acetylation improved the formation of insoluble starch-linoleic acid complexes.
• The kinked structure of the linoleic acid hindered the formation of soluble starch-linoleic acid complex.
• There was an optimum starch chain length for both soluble and insoluble starch-linoleic acid complex formation.

This study investigated the complexation yield and physicochemical properties of soluble and insoluble starch complexes with linoleic acid when a β-amylase treatment was applied to acetylated and debranched potato starch. The degree of acetylation was generally higher in the soluble complexes than in the insoluble ones. The insoluble complexes from the acetylated starch displayed the V-type pattern, whereas, the soluble complexes displayed a mixture of either the A-/V-type or the B-/V-type pattern. Acetylation decreased onset and peak melting temperatures for the insoluble complexes, whereas no melting endotherm was observed in the soluble complexes. Acetylation substantially increased the amount of complexed linoleic acid in the insoluble complexes, but had little positive effect on the formation of the soluble complexes. The β-amylase treatment significantly increased the complexed linoleic content in both soluble and insoluble complexes for the low acetylated starch, but not for the high acetylated starch.