Characterization of internal structure of maize starch without amylose and amylopectin separation

Insight to starch retrogradation through fine structure models: A review

The retrogradation of starch is crucial for the texture and nutritional value of starchy foods products. There is mounting evidence highlighting the significant impact of starch's fine structures on starch retrogradation. Because of the complexity of starch fine structure, it is a formidable challenge to study the structure-property relationship of starch retrogradation. Several models have been proposed over the years to facilitate understanding of starch structure. In this review, from the perspective of starch models, the intricate structure-property relationship is sorted into the correlation between different types of structural parameters and starch retrogradation performance. Amylopectin B chains with DP 24-36 and DP ≥36 exhibit a higher tendency to form ordered crystalline structures, which promotes starch retrogradation. The chains with DP 6-12 mainly inhibit starch retrogradation. Based on the building block backbone model, a longer inter-block chain length (IB-CL) enhances the realignment and reordering of starch. The mathematical parameterization model reveals a positive correlation between amylopectin medium chains, amylose short chains, and amylose long chains with starch retrogradation. The review is structured according to starch models; this contributes to a clear and comprehensive elucidation of the structure-property relationship, thereby providing valuable references for the selection and utilization of starch.

High fructan barley lines produced by selective breeding may alter β-glucan and amylopectin molecular structure

Six cross-bred barley lines developed by a breeding strategy with the target to enhance the fructan synthesis activity and reduce the fructan hydrolysis activity were analyzed together with their parental lines, and a reference line (Gustav) to determine whether the breeding strategy also affected the content and molecular structure of amylopectin and β-glucan. The highest fructan and β-glucan content achieved in the novel barley lines was 8.6 % and 12 %, respectively (12.3-fold and 3.2-fold higher than in Gustav). The lines with low fructan synthesis activity had higher starch content, smaller building blocks in amylopectin, and smaller structural units of β-glucans than the lines with high-fructan synthesis activity. Correlation analysis confirmed that low starch content was associated with high amylose, fructan, and β-glucan content, and larger building blocks in amylopectin.

Starch granule size: Does it matter?

Nature has developed starch granules varying in size from less than 1 μm to more than 100 μm. The granule size is an important factor affecting the functional properties and the applicability of starch for food and non-food applications. Within the same botanical species, the range of starch granule size can be up to sevenfold. This review critically evaluated the biological and environmental factors affecting the size of starch granules, the methods for the separation of starch granules and the measurement of size distribution. Further, the structure at different length scales and properties of starch-based on the granule size is elucidated by specifying the typical applications of granules with varying sizes. An amylopectin cluster model showing the arrangement of amylopectin from inside toward the granule surface is proposed with the hypothesis that the steric hindrance for the growth of lamellar structure may limit the size of starch granules.

A simplified method of determining the internal structure of amylopectin from barley starch without amylopectin isolation

To determine the internal structure of barley starch without amylopectin isolation, whole starch was hydrolyzed using β-amylase to remove the linear amylose and obtain β-limit dextrins (β-LDs). The β-LDs were treated with extensive α-amylase to prepare α-limit dextrins (α-LDs), and the α-LDs were further hydrolyzed with β-amylase into building blocks. The chain-length distribution of β-LD and building block composition were analyzed by size-exclusion chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography. The internal structure of the barley whole starches had similar pattern to barley amylopectins analyzed by conventional methods. The starch of barley amo1-mutated varieties contained more short internal B-chains and less long internal B-chains than that of other varieties. The starch from amo1-mutated varieties had more large building blocks than that from waxy varieties. The simplified method presented in this study can effectively characterize starch internal structure that relates to physicochemical properties of starch, although some details of amylopectin structure are not assessable.

Amylose starch with no detectable branching developed through DNA-free CRISPR-Cas9 mediated mutagenesis of two starch branching enzymes in potato

DNA-free genome editing was used to induce mutations in one or two branching enzyme genes (Sbe) in tetraploid potato to develop starch with an increased amylose ratio and elongated amylopectin chains. By using ribonucleoprotein (RNP) transfection of potato protoplasts, a mutation frequency up to 72% was achieved. The large variation of mutations was grouped as follows: Group 1 lines with all alleles of Sbe1 mutated, Group 2 lines with all alleles of Sbe1 as well as two to three alleles of Sbe2 mutated and Group 3 lines having all alleles of both genes mutated. Starch from lines in Group 3 was found to be essentially free of amylopectin with no detectable branching and a chain length (CL) distribution where not only the major amylopectin fraction but also the shortest amylose chains were lost. Surprisingly, the starch still formed granules in a low-ordered crystalline structure. Starch from lines of Group 2 had an increased CL with a higher proportion of intermediate-sized chains, an altered granule phenotype but a crystalline structure in the granules similar to wild-type starch. Minor changes in CL could also be detected for the Group 1 starches when studied at a higher resolution.

Impact of the fermentation broth of Ganoderma lucidum on the quality of Chinese steamed bread

The potential of fermentation broth of Ganoderma lucidum (FB_G) in improving the quality of Chinese steamed bread (CSB) was firstly evaluated. The sensory quality scores of CSB treated by FB_G are significantly higher than that of CSB in the control, and texture profile analysis also indicates the increase of CSB hardness and chewiness caused by FB_G. Observation on micro-structure of CSB shows that formation of larger pores and expansion of starch granules are the important reasons for the improvement of CSB specific volume (vol_S), and granule expansion is due to that gluten network distributed in CSB is destroyed as a result of cross-linkage of flour proteins catalyzed by laccase, which makes starch granules releasing from the network easily contact with steam or other enzymes during the proofing and steaming of dough. Moreover, FB_G contains amylases which not only convert amylopectin to amylose, but also degrade starch to glucose, maltose and polysaccharides, correspondingly resulting in changes of amylose/amylopectin (Ae/An) ratio of flour and CSB vol_S, and the latter is because more CO₂ produced by the yeast during CSB making leads to the larger pore area in crumb. Both hardness and chewiness are determined by the comprehensive effect of protein cross-linkage, Ae/An ratio and vol_S change, and this viewpoint gives a logical explanation for the effects of 0.025–0.10 ml/g of FB_G on hardness and chewiness of CSB.

Investigation of debranching pattern of a thermostable isoamylase and its application for the production of resistant starch

Debranching enzymes contribute to the enzymatic production of resistant starch (RS) by reducing substrate molecular weight and increasing amylose yield. In the present study, the action pattern of a thermostable isoamylase-type debranching enzyme on different types of starch was investigated. The molecular weight distribution, glycosidic bond composition and contents of oligosaccharides released were monitored by various liquid chromatography techniques and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). These analyses showed that the isoamylase could specifically and efficiently attack α-1,6-glucosidic linkages at branch points, leaving the amylose favored by other amylolytic enzymes. Its ability to attack side chains composed of 1-3 glucose residues differentiates it from other isoamylases, a property which is also ideal for the RS preparation process. The enzyme was used as an auxiliary enzyme in the hydrolytic stage. The highest RS yield (53.8%) was achieved under the optimized conditions of 70 °C and pH 5.0, using 7 U isoamylase per g starch and 2 NU amylase per g starch. These data also help us better understand the application of isoamylase for preparation of other products from highly branched starch materials.

Structure of Arabidopsis leaf starch is markedly altered following nocturnal degradation

Little is known about the thermal properties and internal molecular structure of transitory starch. In this study, granule morphology, thermal properties, and the cluster structure of Arabidopsis leaf starch at beginning and end of the light period were explored. The structural properties of building blocks and clusters were evaluated by using diverse chromatographic techniques. On the granular level, starch from end of day had larger granule size, thinner crystalline lamellae thickness, lower free surface energy of crystals, and lower tendency to retrograde than that from end of night. On the molecular level, the starch had lower amylose content, larger cluster size, and higher number of blocks per cluster at the end of day than at end of night. It is concluded that the core of the granules contains a more permanent molecular and less-ordered physical structure different from the transitory layers laid down around the core at daytime.

Distribution of branches in whole starches from maize mutants deficient in starch synthase III

An earlier study explored the possibility of analyzing the distribution of branches directly in native, whole starch without isolating the amylopectin component. The aim of this study was to explore if this approach can be extended to include starch mutants. Whole starches from du1 maize mutants deficient in starch synthase III (SSIII) with amylose content of ∼30-40% were characterized and compared with the wild type of the common genetic background W64A. Clusters were produced from whole starch by hydrolysis with α-amylase of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Their compositions of building blocks and chains were analyzed further by complete α-amylolysis and by debranching, respectively, whereafter the products were subjected to gel permeation and anion exchange chromatography. The size and structure of the clusters were compared with those of their isolated amylopectin component. Whereas the whole starch of the wild type sample had a branched structure similar to that of its amylopectin component, the results showed that the du1 mutation resulted in more singly branched building blocks in the whole starch compared to the isolated amylopectin. This suggested that amylose and/or intermediate materials in whole du1 starches likely contributed to the composition of branches. This study explored an alternative procedure to characterize the composition of branches in the whole starch without fractionating the components.

Composition of clusters and building blocks in amylopectins from maize mutants deficient in starch synthase III

Branches in amylopectin are distributed along the backbone. Units of the branches are building blocks (smaller) and clusters (larger) based on the distance between branches. In this study, composition of clusters and building blocks of amylopectins from dull1 maize mutants deficient in starch synthase III (SSIII) with a common genetic background (W64A) were characterized and compared with the wild type. Clusters were produced from amylopectins by partial hydrolysis using α-amylase of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and were subsequently treated with phosphorylase a and β-amylase to produce φ,β-limit dextrins. Clusters were further extensively hydrolyzed with the α-amylase to produce building blocks. Structures of clusters and building blocks were analyzed by diverse chromatographic techniques. The results showed that the dull1 mutation resulted in larger clusters with more singly branched building blocks. The average cluster contained ~5.4 blocks in dull1 mutants and ~4.2 blocks in the wild type. The results are compared with previous results from SSIII-deficient amo1 barley and suggest fundamental differences in the cluster structures.