The impact of high hydrostatic pressure treatment time on the structure,gelatinization and thermal properties and in vitro digestibility of oat starch

As a non-thermal processing technology,high hydrostatic pressure(HHP)can be used for starch modification without affecting the quality and flavour constituents.The effect of HHP on starch is closely related to the treatment time of HHP.In this paper,we investigated the impacts of HHP treatment time(0,5,10,15,20,25,30 min)on the microstructure,gelatinization and thermal properties as well as in vitro digestibility of oat starch by scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,13C NMR and differential scanning calorimeter.Results showed that 5-min HHP treatment led to deformation and decreases in short-range ordered and doublehelix structures of oat starch granules,and further extending the treatment time to 15 min or above caused the formation of a gelatinous connection zone,increase of particle size,disintegration of short-range ordered and double-helix structures,and crystal structure change from A type to V type,indicating gelatinization occurred.Longer treatment time also resulted in the reduction in both the viscosity and the stability of oat starch.These indicated that HHP treatment time greatly influenced the microstructure of oat starch,and the oat starch experienced crystalline destruction(5 min),crystalline disintegration(15 min)and gelatinization(>15 min)during HHP treatment.Results of in vitro digestibility showed that the rapidly digestible starch(RDS)content declined first after treatment for 5 to 10 min then rose with the time extending from 15 to 30 min,indicating that longer pressure treatment time was unfavourable to the health benefits of oat starch for humans with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.Therefore,the 500-MPa treatment time for oat starch is recommended not more than 15 min.This study provides theoretical guidance for the application of HHP technology in starch modification and development of health foods.

Characterization of A-and B-type starch granules in Chinese wheat cultivars

Starch is the major component of wheat flour and serves as a multifunctional ingredient in food industry. The objective of the present study was to investigate starch granule size distribution of Chinese wheat cultivars, and to compare structure and functionality of starches in four leading cultivars Zhongmai 175, CA12092, Lunxuan 987, and Zhongyou 206. A wide variation in volume percentages of A- and B-type starch granules among genotypes was observed. Volume percentages of A- and B-type granules had ranges of 68.4–88.9% and 9.7–27.9% in the first cropping seasons, 74.1–90.1% and 7.2–25.3% in the second. Wheat cultivars with higher volume percentages of A- and B-type granules could serve as parents in breeding program for selecting high and low amylose wheat cultivars, respectively. In comparison with the B-type starch granules, the A-type granules starch showed difference in three aspects：（1） higher amount of ordered short-range structure and a lower relative crystallinity,（2） higher gelatinization onset（To） temperatures and enthalpies（ΔH）, and lower gelatinization conclusion temperatures（Tc）,（3） greater peak, though, and final viscosity, and lower breakdown viscosity and pasting temperature. It provides important information for breeders to develop potentially useful cultivars with particular functional properties of their starches suited to specific applications.

Effects of Nitrogen-controlled Atmosphere Storage on the Quality of Ordinary Late Japonica Rice

Nitrogen-controlled atmosphere has been internationally recognized as a green grain storage technology.This study used Jiangsu ordinary late japonica rice as the test material and investigated the effects of different nitrogen concentrations(88%,93%,and 98%)and different storage temperatures(10,20,and 30℃)on the rice quality indexes during nitrogen-controlled atmosphere storage.The results showed that the water content of rice in different nitrogen-controlled atmosphere groups fluctuated between 12.85%~13.15%at 20℃,which was significantly lower than that in the control group.High-concentration nitrogen-controlled atmosphere treatment(93%and 98%)effectively slowed down the fatty acid value,malondialdehyde(MDA)content,and electrical conductivity of rice,and also significantly inhibited the rapid increase in the final viscosity and water absorption of rice starch,while the changes in the peak viscosity and attenuation value of rice were not significantly different from those of the control group.Meanwhile,the impacts of controlled atmosphere storage with 98%nitrogen concentration on the water content,fatty acid value,MDA content,electrical conductivity,gelatinization characteristics,and water absorption of rice at 10,20,and 30℃were studied.It was found that all quality parameters,except the MDA content,changed most gently at 10℃.In conclusion,the combined treatment of nitrogen-controlled atmosphere storage(98%)and low temperature(10℃)can effectively delay the quality deterioration of ordinary late japonica rice.