Influence of molecular structural characteristics on pasting and thermal properties of acid-methanol-treated rice starches

Rice starches from TKW1, TNG67 and TCS17 varieties, differing widely in amylose contents (0.1, 18.3 and 29.2%) were treated at 45 °C for 1 h in methanol containing various amounts of HCl. The recovery, pasting properties, thermal behaviors, molecular size and chain length distribution of starch were observed. Starches exhibited widely different pasting and thermal behavior upon acid-methanol treated (AMT). Degradation of starches upon AMT affected the leaching extent and chain length of amylose. No obvious changes were found on chain length and content of chain fractions of amylopectin. The pasting viscosity of rice starch decreased with increasing concentration of HCl, and the pasting profiles depended on the variety of rice. The pasting profile of AMT-TNG67 starch showed a two-step increasing pattern during heating, while TKW1 and TCS17 starches showed smoothly increasing pasting curves. The relationship between pasting patterns of AMT-TNG67 starches with amylose leaching and two stages of swelling behavior of starch granules was investigated. Results indicated that the pasting of starch granules depend on the amount, as well as the chain length, of amylose in granules.