In situ Imaging of Pea Starch in Seeds

In situ crude protein and starch degradation and in vitro evaluation of pea grains for ruminants

Thirteen pea grain samples from different origins were used to examine the variation in in situ ruminal degradation of crude protein (CP) and starch as well as in vitro gas production (GP) kinetics. In vitro GP was used to estimate the digestibility of organic matter (dOM), metabolisable energy (ME) and utilisable CP at the duodenum (uCP). Protein fractions were also determined according to the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System. Degradation of CP and starch from all pea grains in the rumen was almost complete, with a high proportion of the instantly disappearing fraction. The variation in the degradation constants among pea grain variants was high, and degradation of CP and starch showed a significant initial lag phase in the rumen. The mean effective degradation (ED) calculated for a rumen outflow of k = 8%/h of CP (EDCP8) was higher than ED of starch (EDST8), averaging 77.0 and 71.5%, respectively, with low variation among variants. A correlation analysis between GP parameters and in situ degradation constants showed no clear relationship, but the rates of in vitro GP and in situ starch degradation were similar. Most of the protein in the pea grains was buffer-soluble with fast and intermediate degradation. Variation in the protein fractions among the pea grain variants was low and not suitable for predicting differences in in situ degradation characteristics. The mean in vitro uCP of pea grains was 198 g/kg dry matter (k = 8%/h) and variation was low and consistent with that of GP kinetics and in situ rumen undegradable crude protein values. The estimation of dOM and ME from 24 h GP led to very high values indicating that the existing prediction equations may not be suitable for pea grains as a single feed.

High stability of bilayer nano-emulsions fabricated by Tween 20 and specific interfacial peptides

To ensure emulsions to be continuously stable, the hydrolysates recovered from cod bones by papain acted as a natural surfactant to synthesize high-stability bilayer nano-emulsions. As assisted by Tween 20, the average diameter of synthesized nano-emulsion with enzymatic hydrolysate could exhibit stability between 300-400 nm under a broad range of pH (4-8), temperatures (30-90 °C) and salt concentration (25-250 mM). With the addition of the hydrolysates, the rate of increase of the TBARS value in the emulsion decreased. Moreover, the bilayer structure of the nano-emulsion was characterized under an atomic force microscopy and a cryo-scanning electron microscopy. Nano-LC-Q-TOF-MS was adopted to primarily identify peptides that contained hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids at the emulsion interface. Besides, the absorbed peptides on the interface of emulsion enhanced the stability of emulsion lipid oxidation.

Getting the feel of food structure with atomic force microscopy

This article describes the progress in the development of the atomic force microscope as an imaging tool and a force transducer, with particular reference to applications in food science. Use as an imaging tool has matured and emphasis is placed on the novel insights gained from the use of the technique to study food macromolecules and food colloids, and the subsequent applications of this new knowledge in food science. Use as a force transducer is still emerging and greater emphasis is given on the methodology and analysis. Where available, applications of force measurements between molecules or between larger colloidal particles are discussed, where they have led to new insights or solved problems related to food science. The future prospects of the technique in imaging or through force measurements are discussed.

Thermal, pasting and morphological properties of starch granules of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties

Large (A) and small (B) granules of wheat starch were separated and their morphological, thermal, structural and pasting properties were investigated. The pasting properties of starches from two wheat varieties showed significant differences. For wheat variety C-306, the unfractionated starch showed higher peak, trough, breakdown, final, and setback viscosities than the starch isolated from wheat variety WH-147. On the contrary, unfractionated starch of variety WH-147 has higher pasting temperature than the starch of the variety C-306. Differential scanning calorimetry results showed that unfractionated starch exhibited the higher gelatinization enthalpy, peak and conclusion temperatures than the isolated A- and B-starch granules from both the varieties. Scanning electron microscopy results revealed that large A-granules appeared to be smooth and displayed disk or lenticular shape having diameter 13-35 μm, while B-granules showed a spherical shape with diameter of 2-6 μm. The variations in structures and content would result in starch granules with different chemical and physical properties.

Interfacial adsorption of peptides in oil-in-water emulsions costabilized by Tween 20 and antioxidative potato peptides

Previous studies have shown that soybean oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions prepared with potato protein hydrolysate (PPH) are remarkably stable against oxidative changes. It was hypothesized that partitioning of peptides at the emulsion interface plays an important role in this phenomenon. The present study was conducted to examine the structural characteristics of the interfacial membrane. As revealed by atomic force microscopy, oil droplets costabilized with PPH and Tween 20 were more uniform than those stabilized with Tween 20 only (control). Confocal laser scanning microscopy images indicated the existence of peptides directly anchored into the interfacial membrane. The adsorbed peptides were mostly short oligopeptides composed of two to seven amino acids, of which Ser-Phe-Asp-Leu(Ile)-Lys matched the sequence of patatin. The adsorption of these peptides appeared to both improve the integrity of the interface and contribute to the oxidative stability of the emulsions. Furthermore, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy illustrated the morphology of the interfacial membrane as a noncontinuous short fibril structure. Partitioning of antioxidative peptides in the interfacial membrane provided steric hindrances and electrostatic effects to inhibit oxidation.

Structural variability between starch granules in wild type and in ae high-amylose mutant maize kernels

Starch granule structure within wild-type and ae high-amylose mutant maize kernels has been mapped in situ using light, electron and atomic force microscopy, and both Raman and infra-red spectroscopy. The population of wild-type starch granules is found to be homogenous. The ae mutant granule population is heterogeneous. Heterogeneity in chemical and physical structure is observed within individual granules, between granules within cells, and spatially within the kernel. The highest level of heterogeneity is observed in the region where starch is first deposited during kernel development. Light microscopy demonstrates structural diversity through use of potassium iodide/iodine staining and polarised microscopy. Electron and atomic force microscopy, and infra-red and Raman spectroscopy defined the nature of the structural changes within granules. The methodology provides novel information on the changes in starch structure resulting from kernel development.

Immersion mode material pocket dynamic mechanical analysis (IMP-DMA): a novel tool to study gelatinisation of purified starches and starch-containing plant materials

There is a clear need for improved methods for the study of the physical changes that occur in slurries and sol-gel systems that have significant water content. In this paper a novel immersion mode material pocket form of dynamic mechanical analysis (IMP-DMA) has been designed, combining material pocket technology to provide physical support to a powdered sample within an immersion bath. IMP-DMA allows the mechanical response of a powder during heating to be monitored in excess water. IMP-DMA was evaluated using a range of starch samples loaded as a slurry into a solid steel pocket, the mechanical responses of these samples were monitored as a function of temperature, and values for modulus and tanδ peaks were found to correspond well with events occurring at both the onset and peak gelatinisation temperatures as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) (e.g. wheat starch has an onset and peak DSC temperature of 49.3 °C and 57.2 °C, respectively, and shows a peak in tanδ at 52.8 °C and a modulus peak at 57.7 °C). Some limitations were found in the ability of DMA to detect transitions in starches with low or high amylose contents. IMP-DMA was shown to be an effective tool for monitoring the changes in starch structure that occur during gelatinisation, both in purified starches and in more complex starch-containing food materials. Thus, a new hyphenated form of DMA is now available that permits the thermally induced transitions of particle water dispersions to be characterised.

Plantain and banana starches: granule structural characteristics explain the differences in their starch degradation patterns

Different banana cultivars were used to investigate the influences of starch granule structure and hydrolases on degradation. The highest degrees of starch degradation were observed in dessert bananas during ripening. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed smooth granule surface in the green stage in all cultivars, except for Mysore. The small and round granules were preferentially degraded in all of the cultivars. Terra demonstrated a higher degree of crystallinity and a short amylopectin chain length distribution, resulting in high starch content in the ripe stage. Amylose content and the crystallinity index were more strongly correlated than the distribution of amylopectin branch chain lengths in banana starches. α- and β-amylase activities were found in both forms, soluble in the pulp and associated with the starch granule. Starch-phosphorylase was not found in Mysore. On the basis of the profile of α-amylase in vitro digestion and the structural characteristics, it could be concluded that the starch of plantains has an arrangement of granules more resistant to enzymes than the starch of dessert bananas.

Natural Food Nanostructures

The development in the early 1980s of new nanoscience tools such as probe microscopy and, in particular, atomic force microscopy, has provided new methods for probing food structures at the molecular level, under near native conditions. The development and use of microscopic techniques in food science has always led to new scientific understanding of food structure and has spawned new technological applications. The availability of probe microscopes has allowed the investigation and solution of previously intractable problems in food science. Such understanding provides a basis for selecting or manipulating the natural nanostructures formed by food molecules, but through rational, rather than empirical selection of new raw materials, or the improvement and new design of food materials through conventional processing methods. Nanoscience thus enables the improvement of natural nanostructures, through the use of standard and accepted selection and processing methods. This approach is illustrated through studies on starch and protein-stabilised foams and emulsions. It is shown how improved understanding of food structure at the molecular scale can be used to select, modify, or design food structures to meet current challenges in regard to nutrition and health. The use of nanoscience to enable the selection of new improved raw materials, and to modify conventional processing methods, provides a basis for designing new functional foods. The status of such products is discussed in the light of the wider debate on nanotechnologies and food.

Large scale structure of wheat, rice and potato starch revealed by ultra small angle X-ray diffraction

Rice, wheat, and potato starches were investigated using ultra-small angle X-Ray diffraction (USXRD) in the range of 100-58,000 A. The results showed trends consistent with the known sizes of starches. However, the observed Rg values for the scattering substances lie in the 100-300 nm range, very much in the low end of the known starch granule size distributions (and below the resolution of the light microscope) suggesting different, perhaps interesting, structures than those observed by light microscopy. Thus what were detected may possibly be the sizes of the crystalline regions postulated to occur in individual starch granules.