Studies on the Retrogradation and Structural Properties of Waxy Corn Starch

Abstract

Abstract The protective effect of guanidine hydrochloride (Gu-HCl) on the retrogradation of waxy corn starch (WCS) gel was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and solid-state 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The areas of the endothermic peaks on DSC curves attributed to re-gelatinization of WCS gels became small and shifted to lower temperature with increasing Gu-HCl contents; finally, the endothermic peak for WCS gel containing 40% Gu-HCl disappeared, indicating that the WCS gel remained in the gelatinized state. The solid-state 1H NMR and FT-IR spectra for retrograded WCS gels showed significant changes compared with those for gelatinized WCS gels. In the process of retrogradation, these spectral changes should imply the formation of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds of WCS and the increase of free water molecules. However, the 1H NMR and FT-IR spectra for a WCS gel containing 40% Gu-HCl did not show such changes along with the progress of retrogradation. From these results, we found that the retrogradation of starch can be protected by the addition of hydrogen bond-breaking materials, such as Gu-HCl.