Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), as a food additive with excellent performance, plays a variety of important roles in the food field.
HP-β-CD can enhance the stability of various components in food. Food flavorings such as rose essence, lauraldehyde, and anethole are volatile and easily oxidized by sunlight and air, which is not conducive to storage and transportation. However, after being included by HP-β-CD, their stability is greatly enhanced. For example, when the Oriental Amber rose essence is included, its thermal stability, photostability, and antioxidant properties are significantly improved, which can prevent the loss of active ingredients and has a sustained-release property, making it convenient for transportation and storage. Although natural pigments are safe, they are unstable due to the influence of light, heat, acid, and alkali. Carotenoids, flavonoid pigments, etc., after being included by HP-β-CD to form complexes, their stability is improved. For instance, after astaxanthin is included, its solubility increases, its storage stability at different temperatures is enhanced, and its antioxidant activity is also improved.
It can also change the physical phase of food and increase the solubility of poorly soluble components. Rutin has broad prospects as a functional raw material but is limited by its extremely low water solubility. After being included by HP-β-CD, its solubility increases, and its physical phase changes. Trans-ferulic acid forms an inclusion complex with HP-β-CD in a specific molar ratio, and its solubility and stability are significantly improved, expanding its application in food.
HP-β-CD has an inhibitory effect on the hydrolysis reaction of fats. Wang Dongxin and others used the conductometric method to determine that in an ethanol solution with a mass fraction of 38%, HP-β-CD can affect the rate constant of fat hydrolysis, revealing the association behavior between the two.
In addition, HP-β-CD can mask the unpleasant odors and flavors in food and improve the sensory quality of products. In some foods containing special odor components, the unpleasant odor can be reduced through the inclusion effect, the taste can be improved, and the acceptance of consumers can be increased.
