Slow digestion property of microencapsulated normal corn starch

•A slowly digestible starch (SDS) was produced through zein-based microencapsulation.•The slow digestion property is due to the hydrophobic zein barrier.•The amylose–lipid complex.•The encapsulation improved the sensory property of produced SDS for consumption.

Starch is the main glycemic dietary carbohydrate, and its nutritional quality is associated with the amount of slowly digestible starch (SDS) that is beneficial to glycemic control. In the current study, a microencapsulation of normal corn starch by zein protein and its slow digestion property were investigated. A significant increase of SDS and RS was shown for starch capsules (weight ratio of zein to starch: 1:6) containing plasticizers of glycerol and oleic acid after high temperature (≥70 °C) treatment. Further studies showed a substantially decreased viscosity and the formation of an amylose–lipid complex after starch gelatinization. Thus, the hydrophobic physical barrier of the zein matrix and the amylose–lipid complex might together limit the water accessibility and starch swelling leading to a dense packing of starch materials with a high amount of SDS. The acceptable sensory property makes it an ideal ingredient for specialty food preparation and glycemic control.