Investigation of the formation mechanism of the pepper starch-piperine complex

In this study, a new carrier for loading piperine was prepared using pepper starch, and its interaction mechanism was investigated. The porous pepper starch-piperine complex (PPS-PIP) showed higher loading efficiency (76.15 %) compared to the porous corn starch-piperine complex (PCS-PIP (52.34 %)). This may be ascribed to the hemispherical shell structure of porous pepper starch (PPS) compared to the porous structure of porous corn starch (PCS) based on the SEM result. PPS-PIP had smaller particle size (10.53 μm), higher relative crystallinity (38.95 %), and better thermal stability (87.45 °C) than PCS-PIP (17.37 μm, 32.17 %, 74.35 °C). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results implied that piperine not only forms a complex with amylose but may also be physically present in porous starch. This was demonstrated by the short-range order and X-ray type. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that hydrogen bonding is the primary interaction between amylose and piperine. Besides the formation of the amylose-piperine complex, some of the piperine is also present in physical form. [Display omitted] •The interaction mechanism was studied by piperine (core) and pepper starch (carrier).•The porous pepper starch (PPS) showed a higher loading efficiency for piperine.•Compared porous corn starch (PCS), hemispherical shell structure was found in PPS.•As carrier, the PPS showed better thermal stability for piperine than that of PCS.•MD confirmed the piperine is physical format except for forming the amylose complex.