Effects of Plasma-activated Water and Annealing on Structure and Properties of Waxy Maize Starch and Maize Starch

In this study, the effect of annealing (ANN) with plasma-activated water (PAW) on the structure and properties of waxy maize starch (WMS) and maize starch (MS) was investigated. The results showed that PAW-ANN did not change the crystallinity type of WMS and MS, but decreased the relative crystallinity compared with the conventional ANN. The relative crystallinity of WMS decreased from 37.1% to 25.9%, and the relative crystallinity of MS decreased from 30.3% to 27.7%. PAW-ANN did not induce starch molecules to generate new functional groups, but resulted in a reduction in the short-range order of WMS and MS. PAW-ANN decreased the gelatinization enthalpy (WMS: 13.33~12.10 J/g, MS: 10.76~10.26 J/g), peak viscosity, and viscoelasticity of WMS and MS, and improved the gel strength of starch pastes. PAW combined with annealing provides a novel dual physical modification method of starch, which has potential applications in the field of starch-based hydrogels.