This study investigated the effects of phenolic acids with different functional groups (cinnamic acid: CIA, caffeic acid: CA, ferulic acid: FA) on corn starch (CS) digestibility by simulating dietary intake patterns (co-heating and non-co-heating) and their mechanism. Both treatments could reduce the digestibility of CS. Compared to the non-co-heating treatment, the resistant starch content of 10 % CA co-heating samples increased by 8.36 %. The co-heating case led to a decrease in the trough viscosity, peak viscosity, and final viscosity of CS. Phenolic acids reduced the short-range order of CS, which was due to the interaction through hydrogen bonding by co-heating. The contribution was most pronounced for CA which contained more hydroxyl groups on the benzene ring. Quartz Crystal microbalance tests further confirmed that different absorption of phenolic acids to CS was caused by their hydroxyl groups on the benzene ring. These results demonstrated that the functional groups of phenolic acids were a controllable factor in inhibiting starch digestion, and co-heating could be considered a promising method to control starch digestion and an advocating way to ingest phenolic supplements.
