Xanthan gum alters the mucosal adhesion performance of konjac glucomannan through an entropy loss-type network entrapment mechanism.

Dietary strategies aimed at enhancing satiety often focus on increasing chyme viscosity to delay gastric emptying. However, strategies based solely on physical thickening are frequently compromised by the gastric environment, resulting in transient efficacy. This study innovatively investigates a mucosal adhesion strategy by systematically exploring the interaction between a konjac glucomannan-xanthan gum (KGM-XAG) composite colloid and gastric mucin. When the proportion of XAG reaches or exceeds 50%, the adhesion strength of the KGM-XAG complex on porcine gastric mucosa increases by 180% ∼ 340%, representing the optimal performance. A suite of biophysical techniques-including contact angle, zeta potential, rheology, fluorescence spectroscopy, and isothermal titration calorimetry-collectively demonstrate that the interaction between the XAG-driven composite and mucin shifts from specific binding to an entropy-driven mechanism that enhances macroscopic adhesion. The "entropy loss-type network entrapment mechanism" strategy proposed here provides a novel paradigm for the rational design of gastric-retentive functional foods and mucoadhesive materials.