The texture of potato mashes is impacted by blanching induced changes in their extracellular starch fractions.

The texture of potato mash significantly influences consumer satisfaction. We here investigated the impact of blanching and different methods thereof on the texture and extractable extracellular fractions (EEFs) of potato mash when extracted with water or with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to seek determining factors of potato mash texture. Mashes prepared from potatoes blanched in 2.

Effects of the Molecular Structure of Starch in Foods on Human Health.

Starch provides approximately half of humans' food energy, and its structural features influence human health. The most important structural feature is the chain length distribution (CLD), which affects properties such as the digestibility of starch-containing foods. The rate of digestion of such foods has a strong correlation with the prevalence and treatment of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.

Mechanistic Understanding of the Effects of Pectin on In Vivo Starch Digestion: A Review.

Obesity and type II diabetes are closely related to the rapid digestion of starch. Starch is the major food-energy source for most humans, and thus knowledge about the regulation of starch digestion can contribute to prevention and improved treatment of carbohydrate metabolic disorders such as diabetes. Pectins are plant polysaccharides with complex molecular structures and ubiquitous presence in food, and have diverse effects on starch digestion.

Starch molecular fine structure is associated with protein composition in chickpea seed.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seed is a nutritional food high in starch and protein. This study aims to find the relationships between the molecular fine structure of starch and the composition of storage proteins and metabolic enzymes, using different chickpea varieties.

Effects of Nonstarch Genetic Modifications on Starch Structure and Properties.

This paper examines if, in maize, starch structure and starch-dependent properties might be altered by pleiotropic effects arising from genetic modifications that are not directly related to starch synthesis. The molecular structure, specifically the starch chain-length distributions (CLDs), of two maize lines transformed with () and genes (an artificial gene, encoding proteinaceous insecticidal δ-endotoxins) were compared to those of their control lines. The two transgenes are responsible for herbicidal resistance and insect tolerance, respectively.

Competition between Granule Bound Starch Synthase and Starch Branching Enzyme in Starch Biosynthesis.

Background: Starch branching enzymes (SBE) and granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) are two important enzymes for starch biosynthesis. SBE mainly contributes to the formation of side branches, and GBSS mainly contributes for the synthesis of amylose molecules. However, there are still gaps in the understanding of possible interactions between SBE and GBSS.

A starch molecular basis for aging-induced changes in pasting and textural properties of waxy rice.

The gelatinization behavior of rice flour and isolated starch and the texture of cooked rice were examined both for fresh and aged samples successively. The whole and debranched starch molecular structures of the starches extracted from the flour and hot water-washed leachate of the cooked rice were characterized, using size-exclusion chromatography, to elucidate the molecular origins of the functional changes. For all variety, the native and leached starches of the aged rice had significantly smaller average total molecular sizes, higher proportions of short amylopectin chains, and smaller average chain length of amylopectin compared to fresh rice.

Controlled methyl-esterification of pectin catalyzed by cation exchange resin.

This study developed a new method to methyl-esterify pectin using a cation exchange resin. Homogalacturonan (HG)-type pectin (WGPA-3-HG) and rhamnogalacturonan (RG)-I-type pectin (AHP-RG) obtained from the roots of Panax ginseng and sunflower heads, respectively, were used as models. Compared to commonly used methyl-esterification methods that use either methyl iodide or acidified methanol, the developed method can methyl-esterify both HG- and RG-I-type pectins without degrading their structures via β-elimination or acid hydrolysis.