Interactions with common proteins affect the retrogradation behavior of cassava and rice starches: Insights from...

This study aimed to comparatively investigated the effects of three common proteins (soybean glycinin (Gly), wheat glutenin (Glu) and whey protein isolate (WPI)) on the short-term and long-term retrogradation of cassava (CS) and rice starch (RS) in high-protein systems. And the potential inhibition mechanism and protein-starch interactions were also systematically explored. The addition of Gly and Glu significantly decreased the storage modulus (G') of the retrograded gels and inhibited amylose reaggregation. Notably, Gly-starch gels showed the lowest G' values after 3 days of storage. Relative to WPI and Glu, more hydrogen bonds formation between Gly and starch molecule significantly decreased the short-term and long-term orderliness of the CS and RS gels, particularly significantly decreased the gel hardness (from 4251.6 gf to 116.5 gf) and retrogradation enthalpy (from 3.58 to 0.43 J g^-1) of the CS gels after 28 days of storage. Additionally, both Gly and Glu significantly enhanced water retention and suppressed water migration in CS and RS gels during long-term storage. In contrast, WPI promoted water molecule loss of CS gels and formed a dense three-dimensional network structure with smaller pores. In summary, Gly exhibited the strongest anti-retrogradation effect, especially for CS, with practical implications for developing high-protein functional foods.