
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules xxx (xxxx) xxx
2
cycling during the formation of RS could modify its recrystallization,
thereby inuencing the structural stability and formation of RS. In our
previous work, we focused on evaluating the structure and properties of
RS obtained using various methods, and discovered that autoclaving-
microwave combination was conducive to RS formation [17]. Howev-
er, the effect of retrogradation conditions on the formation of RS in this
process has not been explored. In this study, the impact of retrograda-
tion temperature conditions following autoclaving-microwave process-
ing on the structural characteristics and digestibility of starch during the
formation of RS3 was meticulously investigated. This research provides
a theoretical foundation for efciently managing the retrogradation
process after autoclave-microwave treatment, which hope to facilitate
the production of healthy functional ingredients with a high RS content.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Normal maize starch (NM, Apparent amylose content (AAC) =26.82
%) was obtained from Qinhuangdao Lihua Starch Co., Ltd. (Qinhuang-
dao, China). Hylon VII (HAM, AAC =72.39 %) was purchased from the
Ingredion Incorporated (Westchester, USA). Porcine pancreatic a-
amylase and glucoamylase (300 U/mL) were obtained from Sigma-
Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA) and Shanghai Yuanye Bio-Technology
Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China), respectively. Other reagents were analyt-
ical grade and purchased from domestic reagent companies.
2.2. Sample preparation
A constant temperature oscillator (100 ◦C) (SHA-B, Guangzhou
Guohua Electric Appliance Co., Ltd.) was used to pre-gelatinize 7.5 g of
HAM or NM in 50 mL of deionized water for 15 min. The pregelatinized
starch was sealed within a polyethylene lm to minimize moisture loss,
and subsequently autoclaved (121 ◦C, 0.1 MPa) in a high-pressure steam
sterilizer (ZM-100, Guangzhou Biaoji Packaging Equipment Co., Ltd) for
30 min. Subsequently, the sample was immediately subjected to mi-
crowave heating using a microwave power dose (MKJ-J1–3, Nanjing
Heben Microwave Technology Development Co.) of 12 W/g of starch
slurry for a duration of 3 min. The sample was allowed to cool naturally
to room temperature before being stored at 4 ◦C for 24 h. Subsequently,
the sample was divided into 6 groups. The design of the temperature
cycle conditions is based on the research by Zeng et al. [18], with slight
modications. Each group was transferred and stored separately at one
of the following temperatures: 4 ◦C, 10 ◦C, 20 ◦C, 30 ◦C, 40 ◦C, or 50 ◦C
for 24 h. This operation was repeated 4 times to obtain retrograded
starch samples. The end products were quickly freeze-dried using a
vacuum freeze dryer (FD-1-50, Beijing Bo Yikang Experimental Instru-
ment Co., Ltd.), ground into powders, and passed through a 100-mesh
sieve for further analyses. Based on the retrogradation conditions, the
HAM samples were named HAM-4, HAM-4-10, HAM-4-20, HAM-4-30,
HAM-4-40, and HAM-4-50. Similarly, the NM samples were named NM-
4, NM-4-10, NM-4-20, NM-4-30, NM-4-40, and NM-4-50, respectively.
2.3. Short-range ordered structure
2.3.1. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
The sample preparation was determined according to the method
described by Zhang et al. [19]. Each sample was placed in an FTIR
spectrometer (Nexus 470, Thermo Nicolet, Inc., Wisconsin, USA) and
scanned 64 times at a resolution of 4 cm
−1
over a wavelength range of
4000–400 cm
−1
. Each sample was scanned 3 times, and the spectrum
was analyzed by the Omnic 8.2 software.
2.3.2. Raman spectroscopy
The raman spectra of all samples were obtained using a raman
spectrometer (Nexus, Thermo Nicolet, Inc., Wisconsin, USA). The laser
source, laser power, spectral resolution, spectral measurement range,
and number of scans were Nd: YAG (λNd: YAG =1064 nm), 1 W, 8 cm
−1
,
300–3500 nm, and 500 times, respectively. The analysis of the spectra
and the calculation of the half-width height of the corresponding char-
acteristic peaks were conducted by the Omnic 8.2 software and Peakt
software, respectively.
2.4. X-ray diffraction (XRD)
The crystallization characteristics of specimens were determined
using a powder X-ray diffractometer (D8 Advance; Bruker, Karlsruhe,
Germany) at 40 kV and 40 mA according to the previous research [9].
The samples were scanned at a speed of 2◦/min in the diffraction angle
(2θ) range of 3 to 35◦with a step of 0.02◦. The relative crystallinity (RC)
was analyzed using Peakt and Jade 6.5 and calculated according to the
following equation [20]:
RC =Ac
Ac +Aa⨯100%
Ac: The area of the crystalline region; Aa: The area of the amorphous
region.
2.5.
13
C CP/MAS NMR
The Varian Innity-plus 400 MHz was used to complete
13
C CP/MAS
NMR studies. Measurement parameters: a solid-state 4 mm detection
probe, a 400 MHz NMR intensity, a 38 KHz spectral width, a 3 ms sample
contact time, a 50 ms data collection time, and a minimum of 3000 scans
were utilized. In accordance with Tan et al. [21], the data were analyzed
using the Excel Solver data analysis tool and the Peakt software.
2.6. Aqueous leaching (AML) and swelling power
Swelling power was determined by referring to the method described
by TESTER et al. [22] with slight revisions. Fifty milligrams (W) of
starch suspension were incubated (10 mg/mL) at 55, 60, 65, 75, 85, and
95 ◦C for 30 min in tubes. The tubes were cooled to room temperature
before 0.5 mL of blue dextran (Mr =2 ×10
6
g/mol, 5 mg/mL) was
added and mixed. The absorbance of the supernatant (AS) after centri-
fugation (1500 g, 5 min) and the absorbance of the reference tube
without starch (AR) were nally measured at 620 nm. The calculation of
the swelling factor (SF) was based on the following equation [22]:
SF =1+ {(7700/W) [(As −AR)/As ] }
The leaching efciency of amylose was determined according to the
method described by Watcharatewinkul et al. [23] with minor modi-
cations. A suspension of 200 mg of starch (dry weight basis) in 10 mL of
distilled water was sealed and incubated for 30 min at each of the
following temperatures: 55 ◦C, 60 ◦C, 65 ◦C, 75 ◦C, 85 ◦C, and 95 ◦C.
They were cooled to room temperature and centrifuged (2000 g) for 10
min. The amylose content of 1 mL of the supernatant was measured
[24]. Amylose leaching (AML) was calculated as the percentage of
amylose content precipitated from 100 g of dry starch.
2.7. In vitro digestibility
2.7.1. In vitro simulated digestion experiments
The previously described methods were modied to simulate diges-
tion experiments in vitro [25,26]. Briey, 200 mg of starch was dispersed
in 15 mL of sodium acetate buffer (0.1 mol/L, pH =5.2) and incubated
at 37 ◦C for 5 min. Subsequently, 10 glass beads and 5 mL of mixed
enzyme solution were added. The preparation of the mixed enzyme
solution involved the following steps. 12 mg of porcine pancreatic a-
amylase was added to a beaker containing 80 mL of deionized water and
stirred for 10 min. The mixture was then centrifuged at 1500 g for 10
J. Jiang et al.