The research aimed to investigate the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment on cassava flour at mild intensities (1, 2, and 4 kV/cm) combined with elevated levels of specific energy input (250–500 kJ/kg). Influences on starch digestibility, morphological characteristics, birefringence, short-range order and thermal properties were evaluated. Application of PEF at energy input no greater than 250 kJ/kg had negligible influence on the different starch digestion fractions of cassava flour but raised the rapidly digestible starch fraction at a combined electric field strength >1 kV/cm and energy input >350 kJ/kg. Morphological evaluation revealed that at this PEF combination, cassava starch’s external structure was consistently altered with swelling and disintegration, albeit some granules remained intact. Consequently, this led to disruption in the internal crystalline structure, supported by progressive loss of birefringence and significantly lower absorbance ratio at 1047/1022 cm−1. These physical and microstructural changes of the inherent starch promoted the shift in gelatinization temperatures to a higher temperature and reduced the gelatinization enthalpy. The study demonstrated that PEF can be utilized to change the starch fraction of cassava flour, which is driven by electric field strength and specific energy input, causing changes in the starch-related properties leading to increased digestibility.

The aim of this study was to utilize high-pressure processing (HPP) to modify cassava flour through altering the starch components. Specifically, the effect of HPP processing variables, i.e., pressure (0.10 or untreated, 300, 400, 500, and 600 MPa), flour concentration (FC; 10, 20, and 30%), and holding time (HT; 10 and 30 min) on starch-related properties was studied. Microstructural integrity, thermal properties, and starch susceptibility to digestive enzymes were determined. A three-way ANOVA was performed to identify the interaction effect between these process variables. In general, 600 MPa consistently transformed the crystalline starch into an amorphous one. HPP-induced gelatinization led to enlarged starches with loss of birefringence, reduced relative crystallinity percentage, and changes in short-range order. The three-way interaction between the process variables was evident in the significant progressive rise in onset gelatinization temperature and degree of gelatinization, and the decline in gelatinization enthalpy from 500 to 600 MPa with decreasing FC and increasing HT. These changes caused an increased percentage of rapidly digestible starch and decreased resistant starch fraction. Overall, this study’s results imply the possibility of using HPP to modify the starch component in cassava flour and potentially create flours with varying levels of functionalities.