Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.4
4.7
Journals
Foods
Special Issues
Starch: Structure, Modification and Nutritional Function
share announcement

Starch: Structure, Modification and Nutritional Function

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Physics and (Bio)Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 2230

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hongliang Zeng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
Interests: starch; carbohydrate; gut health; nutrition; in vitro models; starch modification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Starchy foods are the primary energy source for most people and have been an important driving force for the development of agriculture civilization. Nowadays, starch remains an important composition of human diet but is expected to serve more functions than providing energy. Strategies have been developed to modify and utilize starch to equip it with functions to promote human health. Resistant starches, for example, have been well studied for their potential of improving gut health by regulating the composition of intestinal flora and others. However, although significant progress in starch functionality has been made, we remain in the infant stage of developing and utilizing functional starches. For example, in vitro models, in terms of concerns about cost and ethical issues, are widely used for confirming targeted functionality but are, indeed, too simple to mimic the complex living human body.

The aim of this Special Issue is to solicit cutting-edge research dedicated to advancing the development and utilization of functional starches. Research is welcomed that presents evidence and/or novel strategies and techniques used to advance the development and utilization of functional starches, as well as studies that are methodologically innovative for advancing the research of starch functionality. All papers focused on the effects of starches and their derivates on human health, especially gut health, are welcome to be submitted. Also, studies that provide novel insights into the structural basis of functional starchy foods are encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Hongliang Zeng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • starch
  • carbohydrate
  • gut health
  • nutrition
  • in vitro models
  • starch modification
  • intestinal flora

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 5166 KiB  
Article
Multifilm Mass Transfer and Reaction Rate Kinetics in a Newly Developed In Vitro Digestion System for Carbohydrate Digestion
by Yongmei Sun, Jingying Cheng, Shu Cheng and Timothy A. G. Langrish
Foods 2025, 14(4), 580; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14040580 - 10 Feb 2025
Viewed by 699
Abstract
Multifilm mass transfer theory has been used in conjunction with developing a new in vitro starch digestion model and applied to assessing starch digestion kinetics. One significance of this research is that this in vitro model has similar dynamics, such as similar Reynolds [...] Read more.
Multifilm mass transfer theory has been used in conjunction with developing a new in vitro starch digestion model and applied to assessing starch digestion kinetics. One significance of this research is that this in vitro model has similar dynamics, such as similar Reynolds numbers for both in vivo and in vitro systems. In the in vitro intestine model, when the flow rate changes from 5.9 × 10−6 m3 s−1 to 1.0 × 10−5 m3 s−1 inside the intestine wall (inside the sausage casing), the Re number changes from 362 to 615. An oral digestion model, a stomach model, and an intestine model have been built to quantitatively understand reaction rate kinetics and two-film (or multifilm) mass transfer for carbohydrate digestion. This in vitro digestion system represents the oral mastication process to reduce the length scale of the test food, amylase inhibition in the stomach, and glucose generation and transport through the intestine wall according to the various emptying rates from stomach. Another dimensionless group, the Damköhler number (Da), has been calculated based on glucose measurements from this in vitro model, which show similar glycemic responses of the hydrolysis for banana and carrot with in vivo results. Another significance of this research is to distinguish a low GI food from a high GI one in this in vitro system and the possibility to estimate the GI value based on the glucose measurements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Starch: Structure, Modification and Nutritional Function)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 15415 KiB  
Article
Green Starch Modification Using Citric Acid: Quinoa, Chickpea, and Cassava Starches
by Disala Menuwara Arachchi, Anthony Halim, Gbemisola Fadimu, Asgar Farahnaky and Mahsa Majzoobi
Foods 2025, 14(2), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14020164 - 8 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1257
Abstract
Dietary fibre deficiency has been associated with various global health challenges. Starch, as a main component of many staple foods, is typically very low in fibre content. The primary aim of this research was to increase the dietary fibre and alter the physicochemical [...] Read more.
Dietary fibre deficiency has been associated with various global health challenges. Starch, as a main component of many staple foods, is typically very low in fibre content. The primary aim of this research was to increase the dietary fibre and alter the physicochemical properties of some common and emerging starches (cassava, quinoa, and chickpea starch) using eco-friendly modifications. Citric acid, a safe, natural, and environmentally friendly cross-linking agent, was employed for this purpose. Starch samples were treated with 30% citric acid and dry-heated at 130 °C for 5 h. This process resulted in relatively high degrees of substitution: 0.124 for cassava, 0.117 for quinoa, and 0.112 for chickpea starches. The modification successfully produced rich sources of dietary fibre suitable for food applications. It also reduced water interactions, pasting properties, and crystallinity. The highest reduction in swelling power and solubility was observed in quinoa starch (−67.34% and −82.10%, respectively), while the lowest values were obtained for cassava starch (−35.39% and −44.22%). All starches retained their granular integrity; however, they lost birefringence and Maltese crosses and showed some erosions on the granule surfaces. The citrate starches produced in this research offer thermally stable starch suitable for various food applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Starch: Structure, Modification and Nutritional Function)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop