Changes in Starch In Vitro Digestibility and Properties of Cassava Flour Due to Pulsed Electric Field Processing

Abstract

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.

Research progress of starch from characteristic tropical crops

“…该淀粉表 面光滑程度不一, 大部分报道其表面光滑 [124,[128][129][130] , 部分报道其表面有孔或凹痕 [56,122,131] 芒果淀粉的粒径为 5.62-36.48 μm, 大多数集 中在 13.0-19.2 μm [34,56,58,[128][129][130][131][142][143][144] . 此外, 有研究发现芒果淀粉的平均粒径为 50 μm [119] 蛋黄果淀 粉 球形、椭圆形到钟形 [60,62,63,125] 颗粒较小, 来源于果肉的淀粉颗粒粒径为 5.03-30.15 μm [60,63,125] , 来源于种子的淀粉粒 径为 4-11.93 μm [60,62,63] 淀粉颗粒大小一般不均一 [89,95,96,103,104,132] , 香蕉淀粉的粒径尺寸差异很大 [43,108] , 在 6-80 μm [82] . 木薯淀粉、芒果淀粉和蛋黄果果肉淀粉的颗粒尺寸在 30 μm 以下, 木薯淀粉颗粒尺寸 在 7-20 μm [88-90, 93-95, 97, 99, 107, 133-141] 变化, 蛋黄果果肉的淀粉颗粒粒径为 5.03-30.15 μm [60,63,125] .…”

“…木薯淀粉 1.180-1.393 [96,104,151] 0.72-1.12 [87, 96, 104, 106, 148] 香蕉淀粉 0.894-1.69 [18,108,166] 0.55-1.12 [18,108,166] 面包果淀粉 0.521 [21] 1.617 [21] 蛋黄果淀粉 果肉淀粉 0.68 [63] 0.675 [60] 9.88/39.24/3.33/57.43 [23] 91.25/8.75 [23] 种子淀粉 0.72 [63] 1.27 [62] 0.740 [60] 11.14/44.70/4.78/50.52 [23] 90.02/9.98 [23] 88.31/11.69 [62] 3.4 Saeaurng 等 [128] 和 Espinosa-Solis 等 [122] 2.0×10 8 g/mol, 分散度为 1.1. Mutungi 等 [171] 测得木薯淀粉的数均分子量(Mn) 和 Mw 分别为 1.5×10 5 g/mol 和 5.3×10 5 g/mol.…”

Physical Pretreatments of Cassava Chips Influenced Chemical Composition, Physicochemical Properties, and In Vitro Digestibility in Animal Models

“…However, cassava has inherent differences in terms of solubility, fermentability, and digestibility, as compared to other carbohydrate-rich feedstuffs. Because the crystalline structure and intact granules are difficult to hydrolyze [ 6 ], a process that reduces the crystalline structure to increase efficiency and the ability to be digested in animals should be of interest.…”

Effect of retort processing, containers and motion types on digestibility of black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) starch

“…During processing, starch granules undergo significant changes due to heat and high moisture, leading to gelatinization and the formation of a starch paste. These changes in starch properties can have a significant impact on the digestibility of starchy foods (Conde et al ., 2022), which is an important consideration for promoting bean utilisation as part of a daily diet. There is growing interest in utilising a kinetic approach to describe the starch digestibility of foods.…”