Pullulanase debranching and subsequent hydroxypropylation were applied to prepare a series of dual-modified starches (Hydroxypropylated debranched starch, HPDS) with different degrees of hydroxypropyl substitution. Their structural and physicochemical properties varied with the degree of hydroxypropyl substitution, and all HPDS exhibited the ability to self-assemble into well-shaped nanospheres (100–150 nm, PDI < 0.2). These HPDS nanospheres were attempted to encapsulate curcumin with the aim of improving the bioavailability, solubility and stability of curcumin. Their structural characteristics, thermal stability, iodine staining, morphology, safety, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro gastrointestinal release behavior, and anti-inflammatory activity were evaluated. The results showed that curcumin could be effectively encapsulated into the HPDS nanospheres, and the encapsulation efficiency, water solubility and physical stability were positively correlated with the degree of hydroxypropyl substitution. After encapsulation, the water solubility and physical stability of curcumin could be increased up to 226-fold and 6-fold, respectively. The HPDS nanospheres also exhibited good safety (including hemolysis and cytotoxicity) and sustainable release of curcumin. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity showed that the activity of curcumin-encapsulated HPDS was enhanced by 170% compared to unencapsulated curcumin. These suggest that HPDS nanospheres encapsulation may be a more suitable option for the development of functional foods containing bioactive compounds.

应用普鲁兰酶脱支和随后的羟丙基化制备一系列不同羟丙基取代度的双改性淀粉（羟丙基脱支淀粉，HPDS）。它们的结构和物理化学性质随羟丙基取代度的不同而变化，并且所有 HPDS 都表现出自组装成形状良好的纳米球（100-150 nm，PDI < 0.2）的能力。这些 HPDS 纳米球试图封装姜黄素，目的是提高姜黄素的生物利用度、溶解度和稳定性。它们的结构特性、热稳定性、碘染色、形态、安全性、包封率​​、体外评估胃肠道释放行为和抗炎活性。结果表明姜黄素能有效包封到HPDS纳米球中，包封率、水溶性和物理稳定性与羟丙基取代度呈正相关。封装后姜黄素的水溶性和物理稳定性可分别提高226倍和6倍。HPDS 纳米球还表现出良好的安全性（包括溶血和细胞毒性）和姜黄素的可持续释放。抗炎活性的评估表明，与未包封的姜黄素相比，包封姜黄素的 HPDS 的活性提高了 170%。