Effect of feruloylated arabinoxylan on the retrogradation and digestibility properties of pea starch during short-term refrigeration: Dependence of polysaccharide structure and bound ferulic acid content

In this study, arabinoxylans (AX) with various molecular weights (Mw) and bound ferulic acid (FA) contents were prepared to compare their effects on the gelatinization, short-term retrogradation and digestive properties of pea starch (PeS). The results indicated that all AX samples could obviously impede the pasting process of PeS and inhibit the short-term retrogradation of PeS-based gels during refrigeration by hindering the rearrangement and double helical associations of amylose. More precisely, AXs with low Mw and the highest FA content (H-FAX) exhibited the strongest intervention ability on PeS compared with the other samples. According to the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction results, it might be due to the unique role of bound FA as a noncovalent cross-linking agent, which enhanced the association between AX and starch molecules through extra hydrogen bonding interactions and entanglement behaviour. On these bases, H-FAX clearly improved the hardness, chewiness, moisture content, and sensory acceptance of PeS-base gels (pea jelly), and could also regulate its starch composition during short-term refrigeration to delay starch digestion. Overall, AXs with appropriate structural features might obviously improve the quality and storage stability of PeS-based foods.