Improving fresh rice noodle quality and reducing glycemic potential using modified rice starch rich in linear chains...

The effect of linear chains with few branches (LCFBs) on the structural quality and starch digestibility of fresh rice noodles was investigated by substituting 0-25% of the rice flour with enzyme-modified rice starch. When the substitution level was ≤15%, the LCFBs with strong molecular fluidity effectively promoted the intermolecular interactions between starch chains, which significantly improved the ordered degree and crystal stability of starch gels. This improved the noodle hardness from 75.80 to 109.62 N, reduced the cooking loss rate from 2.36% to 1.93%, and lowered the estimated glycemic index from 87.83 to 80.98. When the substitution level was ≥20%, the LCFBs preferentially self-crosslinked, which weakened the continuity and toughness of gel network and was not conducive to further reducing the digestibility. The optimal 15% substitution demonstrated that the LCFBs could simultaneously improve textural quality and reduce glycemic potential of rice noodles by regulating intermolecular crosslinking behavior.