Combined wet milling and enzymatic refining of bamboo shoot suspensions: Microstructure, stability, and rheological properties

Abstract

Bamboo shoots (Dendrocalamus brandisii), rich sources of protein (∼28 % crude) and fiber, are severely limited in their food industry applications by high perishability and poor storage stability. This study introduces a one-pot, two-step green processing strategy, combining wet milling with enzymatic hydrolysis (cellulase/xylanase), to produce a stable and ready-to-eat bamboo shoot suspension. The synergistic treatment restructured native fibrous architecture into micron-scale fragments, as confirmed by microstructural (OM, SEM, CLSM) and FTIR spectroscopic analyses. Under conditions (2 % solids, 65 min wet milling, combined cellulase and xylanase treatment for 12 h), the suspension reached a maximum glucose content of 14.1 g/100g DW. All suspensions exhibited shear-thinning behavior; cellulase treatment, in particular, markedly reduced viscoelastic moduli, leading to a more fluid-like yet remarkably stable suspension. This study demonstrates a clean-label strategy for valorizing underutilized bamboo biomass into structured and ready-to-eat food systems, which offers mechanistic insights into the microstructure–stability relationship of plant-based suspensions for their broader application in functional food formulations.