Strategy for Fabricating Starch-Triacylglycerol Complexes with Resistance to Amylolysis and Lipid Oxidation

Previous studies have shown that starch interacts with fatty acids, monoglycerides, or diglycerides to form starch-lipid complexes. Triacylglycerols (TAG) have been considered incapable of forming complexes with starch. Here, we describe a novel complexation strategy using octenyl succinic anhydride-modified maize starch (OSAMS) and glyceryl tridodecanoate (TLG) to form OSAMS-TAG complexes for the first time. MD simulations showed that the three hydrocarbon tails of the TLG molecule were encapsulated together by amylose helices, mainly through van der Waals forces. Structural analyses showed the OSAMS-TLG complexes to have a typical V-type crystalline pattern, with higher DS of OSAMS being more favorable for the formation of V-type complexes. The OSAMS-TLG complexes showed superior resistance to enzymatic hydrolysis and lipid oxidation than straight mixtures of native maize starch and TLG. This is the first study to show that OSA-starch can interact with TAG to form starch-lipid complexes, highlighting their potential for developing nutritionally functional starchy foods.