Physicochemical properties of starches from various pea and lentil varieties, and characteristics of their noodles prepared by high temperature extrusion

Effects of cooking methods on the physical properties and in vitro digestibility of starch isolated from Chinese yam

The objective of this study was to compare the structural and functional attributes of Chinese yam starches obtained via different domestic cooking methods. Cooking changed the crystalline type from the C type to the CB type, and disrupted the short- and long-range molecular order of Chinese yam starch. The average chain length of amylopectin in BOS (boiling starch) was the smallest at 22.78, while RWS had the longest average chain length, reaching 24.24. These alterations in molecular structure resulted in variations in functional properties such as solubility, swelling power (SP), pasting characteristics, and rheological properties. Among these alterations, boiling was the most effective method for increasing the water-binding capacity and SP of starch. Specifically, its water holding capacity was 2.12 times that of RWS. In vitro digestion experiments indicated that BOS has a higher digestion rate (k = 0.0272 min-1) and lower RDS (rapidly digestible starch), which may be related to its amylopectin chain length distribution. This study can guide us to utilize yam starch through suitable cooking methods, which is relevant for the processing and application of Chinese yam starch.

Effect of plasma-activated water on the formation of endogenous wheat starch-lipid complexes during extrusion

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of plasma-activated water (PAW) during extrusion on the formation of endogenous starch complexes with wheat starch (WS) as a model material. Using PAW during the extrusion process resulted in an increase in amylose content from 27.87 % to 30.07 %. Results from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the PAW facilitated the formation of endogenous starch-lipid complexes during extrusion. PAW120 (distilled water treated by plasma for 120 s) showed a better promotion effect than PAW60 (distilled water treated by plasma for 60 s). EWS120 (WS extruded using PAW120) exhibited lower peak viscosity and swelling power, but higher solubility, particle size, and resistant starch content compared with EWS0 (WS extruded using distilled water) and EWS60 (WS extruded using PAW60). In a word, the acidic substances in PAW may lead to hydrolysis of starch and generate more amylose, thus improving the amount of endogenous starch-lipid complexes. The present study provides a novel extrusion method to obtain modified starch with higher RS content than common extrusion, which has potential application in the industrial production of functional foods with low glycemic index.

Insights into starch-based gels: Selection, fabrication, and application

Starch a natural polymer, has made significant advancements in recent decades, offering superior performance and versatility compared to synthetic materials. This review discusses up-to-date diverse applications of starch gels, their fabrication techniques, and their advantages over synthetic materials. Starch gels renewability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, scalability, and affordability make them attractive. Also, advanced theoretical foundations and emerging industrial technologies could further expand their scope and functions inspiring new applications.

Synergistic modification of ultrasound and bamboo leaf flavonoid on the rheological properties, multi-scale structure, and in vitro digestibility of pea starch

In this study, the effect of ultrasonic treatment (UT), bamboo leaf flavonoid (BLF), ultrasonic treatment prior to bamboo leaf flavonoid (UT-BLF), and bamboo leaf flavonoid prior to the ultrasonic treatment (BLF-UT) on the rheological properties, multi-scale structure, and digestibility of pea starch (PS) were investigated. The morphology and crystal structure of starch granules were destroyed by UT, thereby promoting starch retrogradation and digestion. The binding between BLF and starch through hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds inhibited the interaction between starch molecular chains and impaired their double helix structure, thus effectively retarding starch retrogradation. The anti-digestibility of starch was enhanced after synergistic treatment. Compared with single treatment, synergistic treatment increased the ordered structure and gelatinization enthalpy of starch. In comparison with the UT-BLF group, the viscoelastic and thermal stability of BLF-UT group were improved with the increase in ordered structure. This study could provide valuable information for PS modification.

A review of starch swelling behavior: Its mechanism, determination methods, influencing factors, and influence on food quality

Swelling behavior involves the process of starch granules absorbing enough water to swell and increase the viscosity of starch suspension under hydrothermal conditions, making it one of the important aspects in starch research. The changes that starch granules undergo during the swelling process are important factors in predicting their functional properties in food processing. However, the factors that affect starch swelling and how swelling, in turn, affects the texture and digestion characteristics of starch-based foods have not been systematically summarized. Compared to its long chains, the short chains of amylose easily interact with amylopectin chains to inhibit starch swelling. Generally, reducing the swelling of starch could increase the strength of the gel while limiting the accessibility of digestive enzymes to starch chains, resulting in a reduction in starch digestibility. This article aims to conduct a comprehensive review of the mechanism of starch swelling, its influencing factors, and the relationship between swelling and the pasting, gelling, and digestion characteristics of starch. The role of starch swelling in the edible quality and nutritional characteristics of starch-based foods is also discussed, and future research directions for starch swelling are proposed.

Multi-Scale Comparison of Physicochemical Properties, Refined Structures, and Gel Characteristics of a Novel Native Wild Pea Starch with Commercial Pea and Mung Bean Starch

In the present study, the morphology, refined structure, thermal properties, and dynamic rheological, texture, and digestive properties of common vetch starch, a potential new type of legume starch, were systematically investigated, and compared with commercially available pea and mung bean starch. The results showed that the composition and chemical structure of common vetch starch were similar to the pea and mung bean starch. However, the amylose content (35.69), A-chain proportion (37.62), and relative crystallinity (34.16) of common vetch starch were higher, and the particle size and molecular weight (44,042 kDa) were larger. The value of pasting properties and enthalpy change (ΔH) of gelatinization of common vetch starch was lower and higher than mung bean and pea starch, respectively, and a lower swelling power and pasting index indicate that common vetch starch had higher hot-paste and cold-paste stability. In addition, common vetch starch gel exhibited good rheology, cohesiveness, and anti-digestive properties. These results provide new insights into the broader application of common vetch starch.

Effect of different extrusion methods on physicochemical properties and qualities of noodles based on rice flour

Rice noodles have been manufactured in the food industry using different extrusion methods, such as traditional and modern extrusions, which affect the noodle structure and qualities. Therefore, the effects of the extrusion process on qualities of rice noodles using the same blend of rice flour and crosslinked starch were evaluated. In this study, a capillary rheometer was used as an alternative approach to simulate the traditional extrusion method in which the noodles are obtained by continuously pressing the pregelatinized noodle dough through a die. For modern extrusion, a twin-screw extruder was employed to obtain the noodles in a one-step process. The optimal range of moisture content used in the formulation was studied. Upon cooking, the noodles showed a decrease in cooking time and cooking loss with increasing moisture content in the formulation. All cooked noodles showed comparable tensile strength, but those extruded by a twin-screw extruder had substantially greater elongation. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that the noodles prepared using the extruder had a denser starch matrix, while those obtained from a capillary rheometer showed the aggregation of starch fragments relevant to the existence of starch gelatinization endotherm from differential scanning calorimetry. This indicated that the extrusion process using the twin-screw extruder provided a more uniform starch transformation, i.e., more starch granule disruption and gelatinization, thus giving the noodles a more coherent structure and better extensibility after cooking. The obtained results suggested that different thermomechanical processes used in the noodle industry gave the extruded rice noodles different qualities respective to their different microstructures.

Escalate protein plates from legumes for sustainable human nutrition

Protein is one of the most important, foremost, and versatile nutrients in food. The quantity and quality of protein are determinants of its nutritional values. Therefore, adequate consumption of high-quality protein is essential for optimal growth, development, and health of humans. Based on short-term nitrogen balance studies, the Recommended Dietary Allowance of protein for the healthy adult with minimal physical activity is 0.8 g protein/kg body weight (BW) per day. Proteins are present in good quantities in not only animals but also in plants, especially in legumes. With the growing demand for protein, interest in plant proteins is also rising due to their comparative low cost as well as the increase in consumers' demand originating from health and environmental concerns. Legumes are nutrient-dense foods, comprising components identified as "antinutritional factors" that can reduce the bioavailability of macro and micronutrients. Other than nutritive value, the physiochemical and behavioral properties of proteins during processing plays a significant role in determining the end quality of food. The term "complete protein" refers to when all nine essential amino acids are present in the correct proportion in our bodies. To have a balanced diet, the right percentage of protein is required for our body. The consumption of these high protein-containing foods will lead to protein sustainability and eradicate malnutrition. Here, we shed light on major opportunities to strengthen the contribution of diversity in legume crops products to sustainable diets. This review will boost awareness and knowledge on underutilized proteinous foods into national nutritional security programs.

Applicability of pea ingredients in baked products: Links between formulation, reactivity potential and physicochemical properties

This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of purified pea ingredients (starch and protein isolate) by assessing their potential to form volatile compounds during the different steps of sponge cake development compared to pea flour and wheat flour. While pea flour was highly susceptible to lipid oxidation during batter beating, the combination of purified pea starch and pea protein yielded significantly fewer oxidation markers with known green-beany off-odors. This was due more to the inactivation of lipoxygenase during flour fractionation than to differences in batter structure. However, fractionated ingredients were highly prone to participating in the Maillard reaction and caramelization during baking, leading to a more complex mixture of pyrazines, Strecker aldehydes and furanic compounds with potential malty and roasted notes compared to cakes based on pea flour or wheat flour. These findings confirm that using purified pea fractions can create high-quality products with an attractive composition.

A current review of structure, functional properties, and industrial applications of pulse starches for value-added utilization

Pulse crops have received growing attention from the agri-food sector because they can provide advantageous health benefits and offer a promising source of starch and protein. Pea, lentil, and faba bean are the three leading pulse crops utilized for extracting protein concentrate/isolate in food industry, which simultaneously generates a rising volume of pulse starch as a co-product. Pulse starch can be fractionated from seeds using dry and wet methods. Compared with most commercial starches, pea, lentil, and faba bean starches have relatively high amylose contents, longer amylopectin branch chains, and characteristic C-type polymorphic arrangement in the granules. The described molecular and granular structures of the pulse starches impart unique functional attributes, including high final viscosity during pasting, strong gelling property, and relatively low digestibility in a granular form. Starch isolated from wrinkled pea-a high-amylose mutant of this pulse crop-possesses an even higher amylose content and longer branch chains of amylopectin than smooth pea, lentil, and faba bean starches, which make the physicochemical properties and digestibility of the former distinctively different from those of common pulse starches. The special functional properties of pulse starches promote their applications in food, feed, bioplastic and other industrial products, which can be further expanded by modifying them through chemical, physical and/or enzymatic approaches. Future research directions to increase the fractionation efficiency, improve the physicochemical properties, and enhance the industrial utilization of pulse starches have also been proposed. The comprehensive information covered in this review will be beneficial for the pulse industry to develop effective strategies to generate value from pulse starch.

Whole seed lentil flours from different varieties (Brewer, Crimson, and Richlea) demonstrated significant variations in their expansion characteristics during extrusion

The properties of flours and extrusion characteristics, of three lentil varieties (Brewer, Crimson, and Richlea) were studied. The effects of barrel temperature (110, 125, and 140 °C) and screw speed (150, 200, and 250 rpm) on process responses and extrudate characteristics were evaluated using a corotating twin-screw extruder. The three varieties of lentils had significant differences (p < 0.05) in their starch (48.7% to 50.9%), protein (20.4% to 22.7%), and fat content (1.3% to 1.9%), gelatinization temperature (71.7 to 74.6 °C), peak viscosity (123.3 to 179.7 mPa.s), and melting temperature (113.6 to 119.7 °C). The lentil variety, barrel temperature, and screw speed significantly impacted the process responses and extrudate properties. Whole lentil flours exhibited the highest expansion ratio (3.0 to 3.6) at the lowest temperature (110 °C) and the highest screw speed (250 rpm). Richlea variety had the highest expansion ratio (3.6) and the highest water solubility index (45.4%) as it had the highest starch content and peak viscosity, and the lowest protein content and melting temperature. Meanwhile, Brewer variety exhibited the lowest expansion ratio (1.9 to 3.0) compared to Richlea (2.5 to 3.6) and Crimson (2.4 to 3.0) in most of the extrusion conditions studied. Richlea variety was the most suitable for making direct-expanded extrudates among the varieties studied. The significant differences in the properties of flours from the three varieties of lentils resulted in significant impacts on the properties of their extrudates. Therefore, determining the properties of flours of different varieties is useful to select the appropriate varieties for extrusion processing. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The information from this study is useful for the food industry to select the appropriate lentil varieties and processing conditions for the development of direct-expanded products. The data prove the importance of understanding the chemical composition, pasting, and thermal properties to select the appropriate varieties for extrusion processing.

Pea starch exhibits good expansion characteristics under relatively lower temperatures during extrusion cooking

Extrusion processing characteristics of pea starch were studied as impacted by various extrusion cooking processing variables, including, moisture content (15%, 17.5%, and 20% w.b.), temperature (120, 135, and 150 °C), and screw speed (150, 200, and 250 rpm), in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. Physicochemical properties such as radial expansion ratio (ER), unit density (UD), water absorption index (WAI), and water solubility index (WSI) were measured. ER of the extrudates ranged between 2.52 and 3.63. These values of ER were significantly high, although relatively lower compared to the highest values reported in the literature for corn and rice extrudates. The UD values for all the extrudates ranged from 0.12 to 0.35 g/cm3 , WAI, and WSI values ranged from 10.98 to 12.10 g/g and from 0.12% to 7.73%, respectively. Both screw speed and moisture content had significant impacts on the ER (P < 0.01). The highest ER was observed for the extrusion cooking conditions of the lowest moisture content level (15%), lowest barrel temperature (120 °C), and lowest screw speed (150 rpm). The cross-sectional microstructure of the extrudates showed that the samples with a high ER had thick and elongated pores. The results of this study indicate that pea starch is a viable ingredient for making puffed extruded products. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The food industry can utilize the information generated from this study in the development of extruded expanded food products with pea starch. The specific information related to process conditions can assist the food industry in determining the ideal conditions for extrusion cooking in the production.

Compositional, morphological, and physicochemical properties of starches from red adzuki bean, chickpea, faba bean, and baiyue bean grown in China

Starches of four legume varieties grown in China were evaluated for composition, granule structure, turbidity, swelling power, solubility, and thermal and pasting properties. The similar granule shapes, surface fissures, polarized crosses, inner structure characteristics, and granule sizes could be observed among all legume varieties through a variety of microscopy techniques such as light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Amylose contents were in the range of 30.61%-33.55%. All of the starch varieties showed C-type X-ray pattern, but exhibited different relative crystallinity percentage. Significant differences were observed among starch varieties in swelling power, solubility, and light transmittance. Thermal analysis and pasting profile of legume starches showed that all the varieties' differences are probably due to variation in amylose content. The thermal and pasting parameters of starches were evaluated using differential scanning calorimeter and Rapid Visco-Analyser, respectively, and significant differences were observed in individual pasting and thermal parameters. The present study can be used for identifying differences between legume varieties for starch structural and physicochemical characteristics and could provide guidance to possible industries for their end use.

Characteristics of pea, lentil and faba bean starches isolated from air-classified flours in comparison with commercial starches

This study aimed to isolate starches of a high purity from starch-rich pea, lentil and faba bean flours and to characterize and compare the isolated starches with important commercial starches. Isolated pulse starches had a purity of 94.8-97.9% and contained only 0.9-1.1% damaged starch. The isolated pulse starches showed amylose contents and amylopectin branch-chain-length distributions similar to those of commercial pea starch. Therefore, the granular morphologies, crystalline structure, thermal properties, pasting properties, gelling ability and in vitro digestibility of the isolated pulse starches were comparable to those of commercial pea starch but different from those of commercial maize and tapioca starches. The desirable functionality of the pulse starches (e.g., strong gelling ability) renders them suitable for some specific industrial applications, and further modifications can be utilized to enhance their functionality for broader use. This research provided the fundamental knowledge required for future efforts to promote value-added utilization of pulse starches.

Extruded whole buckwheat noodles: effects of processing variables on the degree of starch gelatinization, changes of nutritional components, cooking characteristics and in vitro starch digestibility

The effects of processing variables on the degree of gelatinization (DG), changes of nutritional components, cooking characteristics and in vitro starch digestibility of extruded whole buckwheat noodles were investigated.

Physicochemical, morphological, thermal and pasting characteristics of starches from moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) cultivars grown in India: an underutilized crop

This is a first kind of study on genotype diversity of starches of Moth Bean an underutilized pulse of India. Physicochemical properties like amylose content (7.8-21.4%), swelling power (11-13.5 g/g), solubility (5.9-9.0%) of starches were observed to differ significantly among the six moth bean starches. Swelling power of all the moth bean starches was observed to increase in the temperature range of 55-95 °C. Scanning electron microscopy indicated polyhedral, irregular shape of granule. X-ray diffraction studies indicated a 'C' type crystalline structure and the starches differed significantly in relative crystallinity (17-34%) which affected significantly retro gradation tendencies of the starches. Peak viscosity of starches varied significantly and ranged between 4580 and 5087 cP. Resistant starch content of starches also varied significantly among the cultivars and ranged between 57.3 and 75.6%.

Effect of gelatinized-retrograded and extruded starches on characteristics of cookies, muffins and noodles

The effect of substitution of wheat flour with gelatinized-retrograded starch (GRS) and extruded starch (ES) at 10 and 20 % levels on characteristics of cookies, muffins and noodles was evaluated. Cookies made by substitution of flour with GRS or ES were lighter in color, showed higher spread ratio and resistant starch (RS) content. Muffins made by substitution of flour with GRS or ES were lighter in color, showed less height, specific volume and gas cells and higher RS content. Muffins containing GRS were less firm while those made by incorporating ES showed higher firmness than those made without substitution. Noodles made with substitution of flour with GRS or ES showed higher RS content and reduced water uptake, gruel solid loss, hardness and adhesiveness. Cookies and noodles prepared with and without substitution of flour with GRS or ES did not show any significant differences in terms of overall acceptability scores.

Effect of guar gum and xanthan gum on pasting and noodle-making properties of potato, corn and mung bean starches

The effect of xanthan and guar-gum on pasting and noodle-making properties of potato, corn and mung bean starches was studied. Mung bean starch showed the highest amylose content (43.4 %) followed by potato (23.2 %) and corn starch (15.5 %). Potato starch showed the highest swelling power (19.0 g/g) and solubility index (17.5 %) and exhibited the highest paste viscosities. Addition of both gums improved peak viscosity, hot paste viscosity and final viscosity for mung and corn starches; while for potato starch, guar gum increased peak and final viscosities and decreased hot paste viscosity while xanthan gum increased hot paste and final viscosities and decreased peak viscosity. The noodles made from mung bean starch showed the most desirable characteristics in terms of the lowest-cooking loss and adhesiveness. The gums increased noodle cooking time and decreased cooking loss, firmness and cohesiveness.