The solubility of starch-inclusion complexes affects the digestibility and bioavailability of the included molecules. Acetylation with two degrees of substitution, 0.041 (low) and 0.091 (high), combined without or with a β-amylase treatment was employed to improve the yield and solubility of the inclusion complex between debranched potato starch and oleic acid. Both soluble and insoluble complexes were recovered and analyzed for their degree of acetylation, complexation yields, molecular size distributions, X-ray diffraction patterns, and thermal properties. Acetylation significantly increased the amount of recovered soluble complexes as well as the complexed oleic acid in both soluble and insoluble complexes. High-acetylated debranched-only starch complexed the highest amount of oleic acid (38.0 mg/g) in the soluble complexes; low-acetylated starch with or without the β-amylase treatment resulted in the highest complexed oleic acid in the insoluble complexes (37.6-42.9 mg/g). All acetylated starches displayed the V-type X-ray pattern, and the melting temperature generally decreased with acetylation. The results indicate that starch acetylation with or without the β-amylase treatment can improve the formation and solubility of the starch-oleic acid complex.
Keywords: acetylation; insoluble complex; modified starch; soluble complex; starch-oleic acid complex; β-amylase.