Characteristics and Three-Dimensional Printability of Ginseng Starch Modified Using Acetylation, Heat-Moisture Treatment, and Citric Acid Hydrolysis

We investigated whether ginseng starch is a suitable material for 3D printing. Native ginseng starch (NGS) exhibited poor extrusion performance when printed into a star-shaped structure. Although NGS cubes exhibited a low coefficient of variation (CV, < 5%), stacking led to slight structural collapse, resulting in a considerably reduced height than intended. To enhance the printing accuracy, the NGS was modified by acetylation (ACT), citric acid hydrolysis (CA), and heat-moisture treatment (HMT). The CV of samples printed using modified starch was lower than that of NGS, but the star-shaped structures printed with CA and ACT still exhibited low quality. In contrast, the HMT modification produced star-shaped structures with clear boundaries and the lowest CV in cube-shaped structures. Furthermore, the hardness of HMT-treated starch was higher than that of NGS, whereas ACT and CA modifications resulted in reduced hardness. These findings suggest that HMT is an effective modification method for enhancing 3D printing performance and controlling the textural properties of ginseng starch.