Magnesium-associated persimmon polysaccharide modulates the structure, water mobility, and texture of kudzu starch gels.

This study evaluated how a magnesium-associated persimmon polysaccharide preparation (PP-Mg) affected kudzu starch (KS) gels. Persimmon polysaccharide (PP) and MgCl2 were combined at mass ratios of 4:1, 4:2, and 4:3. PP-Mg 4:2 had the highest geometric mean apparent viscosity across the shear-rate sweep and the highest viscoelastic moduli within the common strain interval. It also ranked first in a four-criterion comparison. This preparation was then added at 0.8% or 2.0% (w/v) to dispersions containing 15%, 20%, or 25% (w/v) KS before gelatinization. The six gels were compared using utensil tests, texture profile analysis, rheology, water mobility, and deformation stability. The 2.0% PP-Mg/20% KS gel ranked first in the combined evaluation (Ci = 0.927). It showed good cohesion during handling, moderate hardness, predominantly elastic behavior, and restricted water mobility. Its mean observational texture score was 93.5/100 across six assessors. This score was developed for this study and is not an official score of the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI). The same gel ranked first when the observational texture score was excluded. These results identify 2.0% PP-Mg/20% KS as the preferred formulation among the gels tested under the stated preparation conditions.