Effect of pandan leaf (Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) powder on the rheological, gel and structural properties on corn starch hydrogel for 3D printing.

The increasing adoption of three-dimensional (3D) food printing has increased the demand for compatible printable materials. This study was to investigate the regulation of pandan leaf powder (PLP) on corn starch (CS) hydrogels for 3D printing. Results indicated that PLP significantly increased the peak viscosity from 6911.00 to 8773.67 cP. Moreover, the increased hardness and storage modulus (G') revealed that PLP promoted the formation of a denser, more ordered three-dimensional network. Mechanistically, PLP can be bound to CS through non-covalent interactions, especially intermolecular hydrogen bonds, and promoted the transformation from free water to bound water. PLP uniformly distributed around the starch was observed by CLSM. The 3D-printed samples with yellow-green color showed favorable printing fidelity and stability. The composite gels were proved to serve as potential dysphagia‑oriented diets by IDDSI test. This study explored the interaction between CS and PLP to expand their applications in 3D printing.