The morphology of wheat starch granules with different damaged starch (DS) content was analyzed using a particle size analyzer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM); the granular structure was studied using FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD); and the granule–water interaction was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS). The increase in the level of DS shifted the population of B-type granules towards larger particle diameters and shifted the population of A-type granules towards smaller particle diameters. The appearance of the surface of the starch-damaged granules was rough and flaky (SEM images). Crystallinity reductions were related to higher mechanical damage levels of the granular structure (FT-IR and XRD). Higher DS increased the liquid-water absorption capacity of the granules. Higher DS was associated with increments in less-bound water proportions and reductions in more strongly bound water proportions and related to reductions in the evaporation temperature of these water populations (TGA analyses). Concerning DVS data, the results suggested that the driving force for water–monolayer attachment to the starch granules decreased as DS increased. Therefore, it was suggested that the changes in granule structure led to a weaker water–starch polymer chain interactions due to the increase in DS. The results contribute to a better understanding of the influence of mechanical damage on the starch granular structure, which could be related to the rheological and thermal behavior of starch-based systems with different DS.

Native corn starch and pretreated corn starch were treated with α-amylase, glucoamylase and mixtures of both to generate starches with high porosity with conserved granular structure. Porous starches were characterized; particle size distribution analysis, nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis, scanning electron microscopy, water and oil adsorption capacity, differential scanning calorimeter, X-ray diffraction and damaged starch techniques were used. The α-amylase/glucoamylase mixture at the highest dose was the best treatment to generate porous starches with interesting adsorption capacity and granular structure conservation. Selected starches were impregnated with chia oil using a vacuum. Pretreated corn starch modified with the α-amylase/glucoamylase mixture showed no significant differences on impregnation capacity compared with native starch with a similar enzyme treatment. The highest oxidative stability was achieved with pretreated porous starch impregnated with 10 to 25% chia oil, compared with the bulk oil (5.37 to 4.72 and 2.58 h, respectively). Results have demonstrated that vacuum impregnation could be a potential technique for the incorporation of oil in porous structures based on starch and porous starches obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis are a promising material for the incorporation and protection of oils susceptible to oxidation.

Gluten-free batters, in general, require the incorporation of agents to control their rheology; this role is commonly played by hydrocolloids. New natural sources of hydrocolloids are under permanent research. In this regard, the functional properties of the galactomannan extracted from the seed of Gleditsia triacanthos (Gledi) have been studied. In this work, we evaluated the incorporation of this hydrocolloid, alone and in combination with Xanthan gum, in gluten-free batters and bread and compared it with Guar gum. The incorporation of hydrocolloids increased the viscoelastic profile of the batters. Gledi addition at 0.5% and 1.25% increased the elastic modulus (G′) by 200% and 1500%, respectively, and similar trends were observed when Gledi-Xanthan was used. These increases were more pronounced when Guar and Guar-Xanthan were used. The batters became firmer and more elastically resistant because of the addition of hydrocolloids; batters containing Gledi had lower values of these parameters than batters containing Gledi-Xanthan. The addition of Gledi at both doses significantly increased the volume of the bread compared to the control by about 12%, while when Xanthan gum was included, a decrease was observed, especially at higher doses (by about 12%). The increase in specific volume was accompanied by a decrease in initial crumb firmness and chewiness, and during storage, they were significantly reduced. Bread prepared with Guar gum and Guar-Xanthan gum combinations was also evaluated, and the trends observed were comparable to that of bread with Gledi gum and Gledi-Xanthan gum. The results showed that Gledi addition favors the production of bread of high technological quality.

The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of different food proteins (wheat gluten, soy protein, whey protein, and ovalbumin), applied in different proportions, on the pasting and thermal properties of wheat starch using a Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), enriching the RVA analysis with mathematical models for a deeper mechanistic understanding of the pasting behavior. Gluten and whey proteins significantly increased peak viscosity (up to +105% and +22%, respectively), while soy protein and ovalbumin decreased it (up to −16%). Conversely, the addition of all four proteins resulted in an increase in the starch pasting profile during the cooling period of the starch pastes (up to +95%). Additionally, the presence of all four proteins accelerated the starch paste formation process (0.2–0.9 min). Mathematical models showed that the addition of proteins accelerated both the viscosity decline phase (breakdown) immediately following the peak and the subsequent viscosity increase phase (setback), leading to the final viscosity. All proteins increased the gelatinization onset temperature, indicating restricted water availability for starch. Consequently, a decrease in gelatinization enthalpy was observed, most notably with ovalbumin (−28%) and whey protein (−24%). Conversely, the retrogradation characteristics showed no consistent pattern. These results offer valuable insights into managing the thermal stability of starch within diverse food applications (e.g., flour-based products) utilizing different protein sources.

This study investigated the impact of damaged starch and arabinoxylans on the thermal and pasting behavior of mixtures containing starch and gluten. The mixtures containing starch, arabinoxylans, and gluten were dispersed in water and a 50% sucrose solution. When arabinoxylans were added to native starch in water, it did not modify the viscosity profiles. An increase in viscosity parameters was observed due to the addition of arabinoxylans to starch with a higher level of damage. Gluten did not influence the effects caused by arabinoxylans. In the sucrose solution, arabinoxylans caused an increase in the viscosity parameters of native starch and starch with higher damage content dispersions. Gluten caused greater viscosity increases when arabinoxylans were added. In water, the addition of arabinoxylans to native starch caused a decrease in the enthalpy of gelatinization and an increase in the onset temperature. Adding arabinoxylans to starch with a higher level of damage caused the opposite effects. In the presence of sucrose, arabinoxylans caused a decrease in the enthalpy of gelatinization. These results lay the foundations for studying the influence of damaged starch and arabinoxylans in water-rich systems characterized by the presence of substantial proportions of sucrose, such as batter formulations.

Microencapsulation by different drying methods protects chia seed oil (CSO) against oxidative degradation, and ultimately facilitates its incorporation in certain foods. The aim of this work was to analyze the influence of freeze or spray drying, as well as of the coacervation phenomena in a ternary wall material blend—whey protein concentrate/soy protein isolate/gum arabic (WPC/SPI/GA)—on the physico–chemical properties of microencapsulated CSO. Differential scanning calorimetry studies indicated that the onset, peak, and end set temperatures for denaturation events shifted from 72.59, 77.96, and 78.02 to 81.34, 86.01, and 92.58 °C, respectively, in the ternary blend after coacervation. Oxidative stability indexes (OSI) of powders were significantly higher (p < 0.05) for both drying methods after inducing coacervation—from 6.45 to 12.04 h (freeze-drying) and 12.05 to 15.31 h (spray drying)—which was possibly due to the shifted denaturation temperatures after biopolymer interaction. It can be concluded that the ternary WPC/SPI/GA blend constitutes an adequate matrix to encapsulate CSO.