Maltodextrin, also known as water-soluble dextrin or enzymatic dextrin, refers to starch hydrolysate made from starch or starchy materials (such as corn, rice, wheat, etc.) through low-degree controlled hydrolysis, conversion, purification and drying by enzymatic process, in the form of white powder. In 1970, maltodextrin was defined as: products with controlled hydrolysis DE value below 20% using starch as raw material are called maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide, which translates to "many sugars". It is a refined starch carbohydrate artificially combined by a cluster of sugar molecules. Maltodextrin is highly processed and is usually used as a food filler and thickener.

Effects

1. Used as a food drying aid

Maltodextrin has good fluidity and solubility, strong heat resistance, low hygroscopicity, no agglomeration, no odor, and will not cover up the flavor and fragrance of other raw materials even at high concentrations, and has a good carrier effect. It is often used as a drying aid in the drying process of juice products, thereby preventing the agglomeration of juice powder products, increasing the solubility of products, and improving the product structure.

2. Application of maltodextrin in encapsulation

Maltodextrin is one of the good wall materials for food microcapsules. Microencapsulation technology has been widely used in biology, medicine, food, pesticides, cosmetics and other fields. Generally, the length of microcapsules will not exceed 3 mm. According to the size of the encapsulated product, it can be divided into: nanoscale (1-100nm) and micron scale (100-1000 nm).Maltodextrin has been used as a microcapsule wall material in some different food fields, such as encapsulating functional oils, bioactive substances, flavor substances, probiotics, etc.

3. Application of maltodextrin in milk powder

Due to its own characteristics, maltodextrin can expand the volume of the product, is not easy to agglomerate, has good dissolution properties, and is added to milk powder and other dairy products. It has the effects of emulsification, thickening, increasing solubility, and improving taste.