Physicochemical properties of ultrasound-pretreated pea starch and its inclusion complexes with lauric acid

•Ultrasound pretreatment (UPT) affected the morphology and structure of pea starch.•The ultrasonic temperature altered the chain disruption points of pea starch.•UPT at higher temperatures increased the number of linear chains and amylose content.•UPT enhanced the complexation ability of pea starch with lauric acid. Ultrasound is a promising green technology for modifying starch. The influence of ultrasound pretreatment (UPT) at diverse temperatures on the morphology and molecular structure of pea starch and its ability to form inclusion complexes with lipids were investigated. After UPT at each temperature, the starch granules retained an unchanged crystalline structure but exhibited notable changes in short-range molecular order and molecular structure. In comparison with the samples treated at 0 and 20 °C, pea starch subjected to UPT at 40 °C had a significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher complexing index with lauric acid (LA) and the starch-LA inclusion complex exhibited a higher enthalpy change, relative crystallinity, and resistant starch content. These differences were attributed to the higher temperature causing changes in the disruption points of starch chains and an enlargement in the molecular weight of linear chains. These results may promote the utilization of ultrasound for effective starch modification.