Effect of arabinoxylan and nanocellulose on the gelatinization, rheological, thermal, structural properties, and in vitro starch digestibility of wheat starch

Non-starch polysaccharides can improve the undesirable properties of starch. In this study, we prepared a gel composite system using arabinoxylan (AX), nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), and wheat starch (WS) to simulate the effects of the interaction between AX and cellulose in the wheat cell wall on the gelatinization properties and digestion of WS. The results indicated that the addition of AX and NFC increased the hardness and viscosity of gelatinized starch compared with the control, with the AX-10%NFC showing the highest gel strength. Structural characterization indicated that increasing the content of NFC facilitated the formation of a homogeneous network in the starch gel, and concurrently enhanced intermolecular associations between starch molecules. Additionally, the R1050/1020 (the ratio of absorbance at 1050 cm-1 to 1020 cm-1 in FTIR) showed that the AX-10%NFC significantly enhanced the short-range order of starch. Moreover, the addition of AX and NFC effectively decreased the digestibility of starch. After 180 min of enzymatic hydrolysis, AX-10%NFC exhibited the lowest hydrolysis rate, which was 12.01 % lower than that of the control. This study investigated the AX-NFC interactions impacting starch characteristics, providing mechanistic insights into modulating starch gelatinization properties and facilitating the development of slow-digesting functional foods.