Understanding CaCl₂ induces surface gelatinization to promote cold plasma modified maize starch: Structure-effect...

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Materials Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Starch modification is crucial for tailoring its properties.
• Cold plasma (CP) offers a novel, non-thermal method for material modification.
• Understanding synergistic effects of pre-treatments on CP modification is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of surface gelatinization on cold plasma (CP) modification of maize starch.
• To characterize the multi-scale structure and physicochemical properties of modified starch.
• To explore the potential for deep processing of starch.

Main Methods:

• Maize starch was modified using CaCl2 for surface gelatinization.
• The gelatinized starch was subsequently treated with cold plasma (CP).
• Multi-scale structure and physicochemical properties were characterized.

Main Results:

• Synergistic modification led to granule surface roughness and fragmentation.
• Starch degradation was promoted, indicated by decreased molecular weight and increased short-chain ratio.
• Reduced short-range orderliness and crystallinity led to decreased pasting properties and increased solubility.
• CP treatment enhanced rapidly digestible starch (RDS) and slowly digestible starch (SDS) content.

Conclusions:

• Surface gelatinization enhances CP etching effects on starch granules.
• The combined treatment significantly alters starch structure and properties, improving digestibility.
• This approach provides valuable insights for the deep processing and functionalization of starch.