Acid hydrolysis of native and annealed starches and branch-structure of their Naegeli dextrins

Abstract

Eight commercial starches, including common corn, waxy corn, wheat, tapioca, potato, Hylon V, Hylon VII, and mung bean starch, were annealed by a multiple-step process, and their gelatinization characteristics were determined. Annealed starches had higher gelatinization temperatures, reduced gelatinization ranges, and increased gelatinization enthalpies than their native starches. The annealed starches with the highest gelatinization enthalpies were subjected to acid hydrolysis with 15.3% H 2SO 4, and Naegeli dextrins were prepared after 10 days’ hydrolysis. Annealing increased the acid susceptibility of native starches in the first (rapid) and the second (slow) phases with potato starch showing the greatest and high amylose starches showing the least changes. Starches with a larger shift in onset gelatinization temperature also displayed a greater percent hydrolysis. The increase in susceptibility to acid hydrolysis was proposed to result from defective and porous structures that resulted after annealing. Although annealing perfected the crystalline structure, it also produced void space, which led to porous structures and possible starch granule defects. The molecular size distribution and chain length distribution of Naegeli dextrins of annealed and native starches were analyzed. The reorganization of the starch molecule during annealing occurred mainly within the crystalline lamellae. Imperfect double helices in the crystalline lamellae improved after annealing, and the branch linkages at the imperfect double helices became protected by the improved crystalline structure. Therefore, more long chains were observed in the Naegeli dextrins of annealed starches than in native starches.