Yang Guiya, Wang Ying, Hu Yuying, Liu Yue, Li Quan, Ma Shuangcheng
School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102488, China.
State Key Laboratory of Drug Regulatory Science, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing 102629, China.
Foods. 2025 Apr 30;14(9):1578. doi: 10.3390/foods14091578.
Thunb. (PM) is a starch-rich medicinal herb, but research on the changes in the structure and physical properties of the starch upon processing remains elusive. Herein, the structures and physicochemical properties, particularly the impact on intestinal flora of raw PM starch and processed (PMP) starch, were systematically characterized and compared. XRD and FT-IR results showed that the crystalline structure of PMP starch was disrupted, with the increase in its short-range ordering. Morphological analysis revealed that the size of PMP starch granules increased with the appearance of aggregation. Significant differences in swelling power and solubility were observed, wherein PM starch has a higher swelling power, while its solubility is lower than that of PMP starch. The PM starch also has higher thermal stability. Interestingly, the resistant starch (RS) content in PMP starch was higher, as shown by the in vitro digestibility tests, which is associated with enhanced bioactivity. Moreover, gut microbiota analysis in mice indicated that PMP starch promoted gut health by regulating specific bacterial families. Our current study has offered full insights into the changes of PM starch upon processing, laying a solid foundation for further developing PM starch-derived functional food products.
土大黄（PM）是一种富含淀粉的药用植物，但关于加工过程中淀粉结构和物理性质变化的研究仍然很少。在此，对生PM淀粉和加工后的（PMP）淀粉的结构和理化性质，特别是对肠道菌群的影响进行了系统表征和比较。XRD和FT-IR结果表明，PMP淀粉的晶体结构被破坏，其短程有序性增加。形态分析表明，PMP淀粉颗粒尺寸增大且出现聚集现象。观察到溶胀力和溶解度存在显著差异，其中PM淀粉具有较高的溶胀力，而其溶解度低于PMP淀粉。PM淀粉还具有较高的热稳定性。有趣的是，体外消化试验表明，PMP淀粉中的抗性淀粉（RS）含量较高，这与增强的生物活性有关。此外，对小鼠肠道微生物群的分析表明，PMP淀粉通过调节特定细菌家族促进肠道健康。我们目前的研究全面深入地了解了加工过程中PM淀粉的变化，为进一步开发基于PM淀粉的功能性食品奠定了坚实基础。
