Influence of yam-derived flours and fatty acids on the structural characteristics, physicochemical attributes, and in vitro enzymatic digestibility of starch–lipid complexes

Lauric acid (LA) and myristic acid (MA) were used to prepare yam flour-fatty acid (FA) complexes from purple <i>Dioscorea alata</i> (DAP), white <i>D. alata</i> (DAW), and <i>D. pentaphylla</i> (DP) flours to investigate their structural, physicochemical, functional, and <i>in vitro</i> digestibility properties. FTIR spectra revealed a new peak at 2850 cm^-1, indicating stretching vibrations of C-H in FAs. Complexing index (CI) values of the yam flour-MA complexes were higher than those of LA. DAW had the highest CI values for both FAs among the three yam flours. In yam flour-LA complexes, solubility (SOL), water absorption capacity (WAC), and oil absorption capacity (OAC) increased, whereas SOL decreased in yam flour-MA complexes. The complexation of the three flours has resulted in different swelling power (SP) profiles. Complexation of DAP and DP with MA significantly decreased the rapidly digestible starch (RDS) while increasing the slowly digestible starch (SDS) content during <i>in vitro</i> digestion.