The effect of plasma-activated water treatment on the physicochemical properties of potato starch

Abstract

Plasma-activated water (PAW) provides a means of treating food products that avoids the damage to heat-sensitive biological materials. Starch is a carbohydrate that is commonly used as a texture modifier. This article describes an experiment to study the effects of PAW treatment on the physical and chemical properties of starch, including the effects of the PAW production itself as reflected. Our results indicated that PAW treatment increased solubility and gel hardness of potato starch. At the same time, the starch is more affected by cross-linking reaction than by depolymerization. In addition, the PAW treatment primarily affected the amorphous region of starch. Finally, the thermal weight loss of potato starch and the reduction of enthalpy required for gelatinization represented an increase in thermal stability. The results of this experiment therefore show that the PAW method can produce chemically cross-linked starch with higher thermal stability, lower viscosity, and higher solubility.