Application of corona electrical discharge plasma on modifying the physicochemical properties of banana starch indigenous to Taiwan

Abstract

Corona electrical discharge (CED) belongs to an atmospheric pressure cold plasma. In this study, raw banana starch (indigenous to Taiwan), which contained resistant starch and amylose at a level of 58.4 g/100 g and 14.5 g/100 g, respectively, was treated by CED at 30 kV/cm, 40 kV/cm, and 50 kV/cm for 3 minutes. After the CED treatment, starch analyses showed that there were no apparent changes in the resistant starch and amylose contents. Only surface and nonpenetrative damage caused by plasma etching at different voltage strengths were observed on the starch granules. The CED treatments reduced the total area of diffraction peak, gelatinization enthalpy (by -21% to -38%), and different pasting behaviors including peak viscosity, breakdown, final viscosity, and setback. The CED treatments were capable of increasing relative crystallinity and gelatinization temperature. This study revealed the potential of CED plasma technology as a tool to modify the characteristics of banana starch.

Cold plasma technologies: Their effect on starch properties and industrial scale-up for starch modification

“…Similar observations were made by Wu et al (2019) in corn starch after APPJ treatment. Wu et al (2018) also observed cavities or fissures in banana starch as treatment intensity increased during corona electrical discharge (CED) plasma modification. DBD modification also caused cracks on the surface of banana starch (S. Yan et al, 2020 ), red adzuki bean starch ( Ge et al, 2021a ) and potato starch ( Guo et al, 2022 ).…”

Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on the Packaging Properties of Biopolymer-Based Films: A Review

“…This could be due to the oxidation of the hydroxyl group into carbonyl groups, resulting in the formation of the new hydrogen bonds. These hydrogen bonds may have decreased the availability of polar groups on the surface, leading to the enhancement in hydrophobicity of the film surface [65]. Similarly, contact angle values increased for corn starch thermoplastic films treated with SF 6 plasma [95].…”

Nonthermal methods for starch modification—A review

“…The breakdown and final viscosity (FV) of the plasma‐treated samples were much higher than the untreated sample (Thirumdas, Trimukhe, et al, ). Wu, Sun, and Chau () applied corona dielectrical discharge plasma (CED) to banana starch (30, 40, 50 kV/cm) and found that after the plasma treatment there was no change in amylose and starch contents compared to native starch but there were changes in the surface morphology of the starch granules. Morphology of the starch granules before and after modification is shown in Figure (Wu et al, ).…”

“…Scanning electron microscopic micrographs of the Taiwan's native and corona electrical discharge‐treated banana starches: (a) Native; (b) 30 kV/cm; (c) 40 kV/cm; (d) 50 kV/cm (Wu et al, )…”

“…The setback values in native banana starch were the highest in relation to the treated samples. Since the high setback value starch has a high retrogradation tendency, CED plasma treatment can help reduce the degree of retrogradation and improve the paste‐cooling stability of banana starch (Wu et al, ).…”