Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802

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Food Hydrocolloids
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodhyd

Structural, gelatinization, and rheological properties of heat-moisture

treated potato starch with added salt and its application in potato
starch noodles
Sha Yang a, Sushil Dhital b, Meng-Na Zhang a, Jie Wang a, Zhi-Gang Chen a, *
a
Glycomics and Glycan Bioengineering Research Center, College of Food Science &Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, PR China
b
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Gluten-free noodles, e.g. potato starch noodles, are getting popular due to the increasing population with gluten
Heat-moisture treatment sensitivity and celiac disease. However, due to the lack of gluten network, the solid loss of potato starch noodles
Starch functionality during cooking leads to lower textural and sensory attributes. The starch modification provides the opportunity
Rheological behavior
to address these shortcomings. Here, we report the application of heat-moisture treated (HMT) potato starch with
Starch noodles
added salt as a binder to improve the cooking and textural properties of potato starch noodles. In the presence of
sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) and sodium chloride (SC), starch granules exhibited irregular shapes and
deformed crystalline growth rings, agglomerated due to partial gelatinization, and lost double-helical structures
and the perfection of crystallites after being subjected to HMT. As affected by the starch-ions interactions and
changed water structure, HMT-modified starch with added SC and STPP had higher pasting temperatures, less
amylose leaching, and lower gelatinization enthalpies and pasting viscosities than HMT starch without salts.
Meanwhile, higher cross-over temperatures and lower G’ values were found in HMT starch with added STPP and
SC compared to HMT starch. Iodine-staining micrographs also confirmed the delay in the disintegrating process
of starch granules in HMT-modified starch with added SC and STPP. Furthermore, when HMT-modified starch
with added SC was applied as binder paste, starch dough owned higher hardness and starch noodles exhibited
less solid loss and broken noodles, firmer texture, and better elasticity. The results thus provide the opportunity
to improve the textural attributes of potato starch noodles with the application of HMT potato starch and salt as
the binder.

1. Introduction increased thermal stability of starch, HMT-modified starch are often

Heat-moisture treatment (HMT) is one of the widely used physical
modifications at a controlled moisture level (<35% moisture w/w) and a
temperature (84–120 ◦ C) during a certain time period (15 min-16 h),
which is aimed to achieve the desired functionality of starch without
destroying its granular structure (Hoover, 2010). After HMT, changes in
the physical and chemical properties of starch may occur, such as con­
cavities on the surface of granules (Tan et al., 2017), decreased swelling
power (Rafiq, Singh, & Saxena, 2016) and pasting viscosities (Dudu,
Oyedeji, Oyeyinka, & Ma, 2019), and increased heat stability (Yassaroh,
Woortman, & Loos, 2019). These changes are highly relevant to the
structural transformations of starch induced by HMT. Owing to the
attractive to the food and material industry (Hormdok & Noomhorm,
2007; Miyazaki & Morita, 2005; Sharma, Yadav, Singh, & Tomar, 2015;
Wang, Li, & Zheng, 2021; Zavareze et al., 2012).
Starch noodles are one of popular staple food consumed in Oriental
countries. Different from gluten-based noodles, starch noodles are made
from only purified starch, and thus being a potential staple food for
celiac disease patients. In general, dropping, extruding, and cutting (also
named starch-pulp method) are three commonly used methods in the
production of starch noodles (Tan, Li, & Tan, 2009; Yang, Zhang, Shan,
& Chen, 2021). Among these processing technologies, the preparation of
the starch dough is the first and most important stage in producing
starch noodles (Wang et al., 2018). As the purified starches are

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: shayangemail@163.com (S. Yang), sushil.dhital@monash.edu (S. Dhital), shiningmona@163.com (M.-N. Zhang), jiewxx@126.com (J. Wang),
zgchen@njau.edu.cn (Z.-G. Chen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2022.107802
Received 17 March 2022; Received in revised form 10 May 2022; Accepted 13 May 2022
Available online 17 May 2022
0268-005X/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Yang et al.
gluten-free and cannot form a dough as the wheat flour does, an exog­
enous starch paste is normally generated and used as a dough binder
(Tan et al., 2009; Yang, Jin, Xu, Shan, & Chen, 2022). Specifically, 5–8%
starch is pre-gelatinized to form a binder paste, then mixed with native
starch to form a smooth and compact starch dough, and produce starch
noodles by dropping, extruding, or cutting method (Tan et al., 2009).
The starch dough is a heterogeneous system, wherein starch granules
disperse in the interconnected three-dimensional network formed by the
binder. The amount of binder added determines the glutinosity and
fluidity of starch dough (Tan, Tan, Gao, & Gu, 2007), and the rheological
behavior of the binder is another intrinsic factor governing the rheo­
logical nature of the starch dough and the production of starch noodles
(Wang et al., 2018).
Current researches are mainly focused on physically mixing different
polysaccharides(Feng, Mu, Zhang, & Ma, 2020a; 2020b), salts (Tan
et al., 2009), and proteins (Feng et al., 2020a) with native starch to form
a starch dough, or substituting 50–100% native starch with
HMT-modified starch to improve the texture of starch noodles (Chandla,
Saxena, & Singh, 2017; Collado, Mabesa, Oates, & Corke, 2001; Liao,
Liu, Gan, & Wu, 2019). However, the cost for the high substitution is
quite high, and the added polysaccharides or proteins will decrease the
transparency and overall acceptance of starch noodles to some extent
(Huang, Liu, & Gu, 2007; Yan, liu, & Shen, 2011). Salt plays a critical
role in altering the starch functionality (Chiotelli, Pilosio, & Le Meste,
2002; Yang, Xu, & Wang, 2021; Zhang, He, Wang, & Chen, 2021; Zhou
et al., 2014). Potassium alum added in the preparation of starch paste
was proved to be efficient in decreasing the solids loss of starch noodles
during cooking and improving their textures (Li et al., 2019), while the
long-term intake of alum is harmful to human health (Feng et al.,
2020a). Therefore, the development of a new starch paste may be an
efficient strategy to improve the cooking performance and texture of
starch noodles. In this regard, we aim to monitor the structure, gelati­
nization, and rheological behavior of potato starch before and after HMT
as affected by salts, and then explore the potential application of this
binder paste (HMT-modified starch with added salt) in improving the
cooking performance and texture of potato starch noodles.
2. Methods and materials
2.1. Materials
Potato starch was supplied by Qingji Starch Co. Ltd, containing
16.8% moisture, 0.22% ash, 0.15% protein, and 0.18% lipid. Amylose
content in starch was 26.5%, determined by an amylose content assay
kit (BC4260, Beijing Solarbio Science & Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing,
China). All chemical reagents used in this study were analytical grade
and purchased from Xilong Scientific Co., Ltd.
2.2. Preparation of starch-salt complex treated by heat-moisture
treatment
Potato starch (30 g) and salt (10% based on starch weight) was fully
mixed and then transferred to a sealed container. The moisture content
of mixtures was adjusted to 20% by adding the appropriate amount of
distilled water into the container. After equilibrated for 24 h at room
temperature, the mixture of starch-salt complex was put in a sealed
container at 120 ◦ C for 4 h, transferred to a dish, and then dried at 45 ◦ C
in an oven. The dried mixture was ground to pass through an 80-mesh
sieve. Potato starch, potato starch with sodium tripolyphosphate, and
potato starch with sodium chloride were designated PS, PS-STPP, and
PS-SC, respectively, while heat-moisture treated PS, PS-STPP, and PS-SC
were coded as HPS, HPS-STPP, and HPS-SC, respectively.
2.3. Granule observation
0.4 g of starch was dispersed in 10 mL of distilled water and fully
2
Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802
mixed at room temperature. Then a drop of starch solution was spread
on the glass slide, covered with a cover glass, and observed in a Leica
DM4 B Upright Light Microscope by using bright field mode.
2.4. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC)
DSC curves of starch samples were recorded by a PerkinElmer DSC
8000 (PerkinElmer Co., Norwalk, CT, USA) equipped with thermal
analysis software Pyris window (PerkinElmer). Approximately 10 μL of
suspension (starch solid: 30%, w/w) was added to an aluminum pan.
The pan was sealed and equilibrated at room temperature for 2 h before
analysis. Then sample pans were heated over a temperature range of
30–110 ◦ C at 5 ◦ C/min, with an empty pan as a reference.
2.5. Attenuated total reflection - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(ATR-FTIR)
Short-range molecular order of starch which reflects the local orga­
nization of helices into crystalline arrays can be determined by FTIR. A
Nicolet IS50 FTIR (Thermo Scientific, Germany) was used to record the
ATR-FTIR spectra of starch samples. IR spectra were collected in the
range of 4000-400 cm− 1 at a spectral resolution of 4 cm− 1 over 64 scans,
with air as the background. As previously discussed (Yang, Dhital, Shan,
Zhang, & Chen, 2021), the spectral range of 1200-800 cm− 1 was sen­
sitive to the degree of molecular order of starch. Therefore, after the
baseline correction, the spectra were processed by deconvolution at a
half-width of 20.4 cm− 1 and a resolution enhancement factor of 2.0. The
ratios of IR absorbance at 1047 to 1017 cm− 1 (R1047/1017) and 1017 to
994 cm− 1 (R1017/994) were calculated from the deconvoluted spectra to
evaluate the short-range ordered structure of starch samples.
2.6. X-ray diffraction (XRD)
The long-range molecular order characterized by the total crystal­
linity of starch is usually examined by an X-ray diffractometer. A Bruker
D2 PHASER X-ray diffractometer (Bruker AXS Inc., USA) was applied to
assess the long-range ordered structures of starch samples, according to
the method of Yang, Dhital, et al. (2021). The scanning rate of each
measurement was 2◦ /min within the diffraction 2θ range of 4–40◦ . The
relative crystallinity of starch samples was calculated in Jade 6.0 Soft­
ware (Materials Data Inc., United States), according to the ratio of the
crystalline area to the total diffraction area.
2.7. Swelling power
The swelling power of starch samples was assessed according to the
method of Huang, Zhou, Jin, Xu, and Chen (2016). 0.4 g of starch was
weighed and mixed with 20 mL of distilled water, and then the mixture
was heated in a water bath at 80 ◦ C for 30 min. After centrifuging at
6000 g for 15 min, the supernatant was collected and dried at 105 ◦ C to a
constant weight. The swelling power (g/g on a dry weight basis) could
be calculated as the following equation:
Swelling power (g/g) = M3/[M1 × (1-M2/M1)]
where M1 was the weight of dry starch (g), M2 was the weight of dried
supernatant (g), and M3 was the weight of wet sediment (g).
2.8. Determination of leached amylose content during gelatinization
Starch solution (10%, w/w) was heated to 50, 60, 70, 80, and 95 ◦ C
respectively with continuously stirring, hold at corresponding temper­
atures for 30 min, and shaken for each 5 min. Then the samples were
immediately frozen with liquid nitrogen, freeze-dried, and ground into
powder for further analysis. The amylose leaching during the gelatini­
zation process of starch samples was assessed through an amylose
S. Yang et al.
content assay kit (BC4260, Beijing Solarbio Science & Technology Co.,
Ltd., Beijing, China), and expressed as the percentage of amylose
leached per 100 g of dry starch.
2.9. Microscopy observation of starch granules during gelatinization
Iodine-staining method was invoked in this study to observe the
morphological changes of starch granules during the gelatinization
process as affected by the treatment, according to the method of
Blaszczak and Lewandowicz (2020). Starch solution (10%, w/w) was
heated to 50, 60, 70, and 95 ◦ C respectively with continuously stirring,
hold at corresponding temperatures for 30 min and manually shaken for
each 5 min. Then a drop of starch paste was transferred and evenly
spread on the microscopic glass slide as thin as possible. When the starch
paste was naturally dried for 1–2 min, then 0.2%I2–2%KI solution was
added onto the surface of starch paste for iodine staining, whereafter the
sample was covered with a cover glass and observed in a Leica DM4 B
Upright Light Microscope (bright field mode).
2.10. Pasting properties
A Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA-4800, Perten Instruments, Sweden)
was applied to measure the pasting properties of starch samples. Each
complex was suspended with deionized water (starch content: 6%, w/w)
and mixed in an aluminum canister. Pasting parameters of the starch
slurry were measured according to a general procedure: equilibrated at
50 ◦ C for 1 min firstly, heated to 95 ◦ C at a rate of 12 ◦ C/min, maintained
at 95 ◦ C for 2.5 min, then cooled to 50 ◦ C at 12 ◦ C/min and finally hold
for 2 min.
2.11. Dynamic rheological property
Dynamic rheological properties of starch samples were measured by
a controlled DHR1 rheometer (TA Instruments, USA) equipped with a
40 mm parallel plate geometry (gap = 1000 μm), according to the
method of Liu et al. (2016). Approximately 1.29 mL of 25% starch so­
lution was loaded on the stainless steel plate of the rheometer and
conditioned at 25 ◦ C for 1 min. At the strain of 0.5% and the frequency of
1 Hz, samples were equilibrated for 1 min at 25 ◦ C. Then the tempera­
ture was ramped from 25 to 95 ◦ C and from 95 to 25 ◦ C, at a ramp rate of
5 ◦ C/min.
Next, two steps of rheological measurements were performed at
25 ◦ C. Strain sweep was firstly conducted at a constant frequency to
assess the linear viscoelastic range wherein material properties do not
depend on the magnitude of the stress, the magnitude of the deforming
strain, or the rate of application of the strain (Steffe, 1996). Then the
dynamic frequency sweep tests were conducted over a range of 1–300
rad/s within the linear viscoelastic region of all gel samples (1.5%
strain), to obtain storage modulus (G′ ) and loss modulus (G′′ ). The
exposed surfaces of all samples determined were covered by a thin layer
of low-density silicon oil during the experiment.
2.12. Dough preparation and texture evaluation
Dough condition plays an important role in determining the eating
quality of the final product (Han, Ma, Li, & Sun, 2020; Zhang, Ma, Yang,
Li, & Sun, 2022). Therefore, the textural properties of starch dough were
evaluated in this study. 20 g of treated starch was mixed with 100 g of
warm water (40–50 ◦ C), and heated in a boiling water bath with
continuous stirring for 2 min to produce a starch paste (also called
binder paste). Then the transparent starch paste was poured into a
stainless steel mixing bowl and mixed with 280 g of native potato starch
and 130 g of water, to form a smooth and compact starch dough
(moisture content: about 52%) with the help of a kitchen dough mixer.
Then 15 g of starch doughs were modulated in cylinders of 25 mm
diameter and 20 mm high, and allowed to stand for 10 min at room
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Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802
temperature in airtight bags for texture analysis. A TMS-Pro texture
analyzer (Food Technology Co., Virginia, USA) equipped with a 50 N
load cell was used to determine the hardness, springiness, and cohe­
siveness of starch doughs, with a head speed of 60 mm/min, a strain of
70%, and an interval time of 2 s.
2.13. Noodles preparation and cooking tests
First, a starch dough was prepared with the help of a kitchen dough
mixer according to the described steps above. Then the starch dough was
diluted with 70 g of water to the pulp stage, fully mixed, and spread on
the steamer to be gelatinized for 2 min. After the natural aging (cooled at
room temperature for 1 h) and low-temperature aging (stored at 4 ◦ C for
2 h) stage, the starch sheet was cut into fine long shreds and stored at
room temperature.
Cooking test was conducted according to the method of Yao, Li,
Dhital, Tian, and Guo (2020) with some modifications. Fifteen strands of
starch noodles with intact appearance were cooked to the optimal
cooking time (when the opacity in the center of starch noodles dis­
appeared). Then texture evaluation of optimally cooked starch noodles
was performed by a TMS-Pro texture analyzer (Food Technology Co.,
Virginia, USA) equipped with a 50 N load cell, referring to the method of
Yang et al. (2022). Texture profile analysis (TPA) was applied to assess
the hardness, chewiness, springiness, and cohesiveness of starch noodles
at 25 ◦ C, with a head speed of 60 mm/min, a strain of 70%, and an in­
terval time of 2 s.
2.14. Statistical analysis
All tests were carried out in triplicate unless specified, and One-way
ANOVA (Duncan’s test) was invoked to check the significant differences
(significant level p < 0.05) among samples through SPSS 20.0. Figures in
this study were plotted by Origin 2018.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Granular morphology
In 4% starch solution (Fig. 1), native potato starch (PS) was evenly
spread and showed typical granular morphologies with round (or oval)
and distinct shapes consisting of amorphous and semi-crystalline growth
rings, which was in agreement with previous publications (Junejo,
Flanagan, Zhang, & Dhital, 2022; Shu et al., 2022). After treatment,
HMT-modified starch granules (HPS) showed similar morphological
characteristics with PS, e.g. intact granular structure, well-defined and
distinct shape, ordered arrays of amorphous and semi-crystalline growth
rings, illustrating that the HMT process barely altered the morphology of
starch granules. Generally, the morphological changes of HMT-modified
starch granules were associated with starch composition (the ratio of
amylose to amylopectin), HMT conditions (moisture, temperature, and
period), dual-treated methods, and the arrangement of the starch chains
within the amorphous and crystalline domains of native starch granules
(Colussi et al., 2020; Obadi & Xu, 2021; Rafiq et al., 2016; Zavareze &
Dias, 2011). In the presence of salt, no significant difference was
observed from the micrographs of starch samples added with sodium
tripolyphosphate (PS-STPP) and sodium chloride (PS-SC), compared to
PS. However, HMT-modified starch samples added with sodium tripo­
lyphosphate (HPS-STPP) and sodium chloride (HPS-SC) were found to
have irregular shapes and deformed crystalline growth rings (green ar­
rows) and agglomerate (red arrows). This could be associated with the
starch-cation interactions that occurred during HMT. The pressure
produced during HMT could increase the thermal energy of amylose and
amylopectin molecules and make starch chains more mobile (Scha­
franski, Ito, & Lacerda, 2021). The increased mobility of the starch chain
increased the interactions between starch and salts and reduced the
hydrogen bonds in the semi-crystalline region of starch (Hoover, 2010),
S. Yang et al.
Fig. 1. Granule observations of native and HMT-modified starch via light mi­
croscopy (bright mode). PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: potato starch with
sodium tripolyphosphate; PS-SC: potato starch with sodium chloride; HPS: HMT
modified potato starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified potato starch with added
sodium tripolyphosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified potato starch with added
sodium chloride.
thus leading to the changes in the layered nature of the internal structure
of the granules.
3.2. Thermal properties
DSC results (Fig. 2 and Table 1) reported that the gelatinization
temperature of HMT-modified native starch (HPS) was greatly increased
compared to that of native starch (PS), which was in line with the
findings of Zhou et al. (2020). Compared to PS, the melting temperature
range and imperfect crystallinity of HPS were increased, demonstrating
that the increased proportion of imperfect crystallinity (Table 1)
contributed to a higher heterogeneity of crystalline structure within
HMT-modified granules (Li et al., 2020). Meanwhile, the increments in
4
Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802
Fig. 2. DSC curves of potato starch and HMT starch samples. PS: native potato
starch; PS-STPP: potato starch with sodium tripolyphosphate; PS-SC: potato
starch with sodium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch; HPS-STPP:
HMT modified potato starch with added sodium tripolyphosphate; HPS-SC:
HMT modified potato starch with added sodium chloride.
the melting enthalpy of the HPS sample also confirmed the increasing
ordered structures (short-range or long-range molecular order). With the
addition of salts, PS-STPP, PS-SC, HPS-STPP, and HPS-SC had wider
melting temperature ranges than control groups (PS and HPS), sug­
gesting more heterogeneous crystalline structures in salt groups arising
from the loss in double helical structure or perfection of crystallites and
the increase in the imperfection of crystallites or amorphous structure
(Table 1). Regarding the reduction in the melting enthalpies of
HPS-STPP and HPS-SC, the loss of molecular order associated with salts
as well as the partial gelatinization induced by HMT would be mainly
responsible for such changes. During HMT, starch chains became more
mobile due to the breakdown of the hydrogen bonds arising from high
temperature and the replacement of sodium cations for hydrogen ions,
tending to lead to the breaking and melting of particles (partial gelati­
nization) and thus showing a lower melting enthalpy value. As a result of
partial gelatinization, starch granules of HPS-STPP and HPS-SC
agglomerated to some extent as shown in Fig. 1. In particular, HPS-SC
had significantly higher gelatinization temperature and melting
enthalpy value than HPS-STPP, probably associated with the valences of
anions that polyvalent anion was more efficient in stabilizing the starch
granules than monovalent anion (Chiotelli et al., 2002). It should be
noted that during HMT, the hierarchical structures on different length
scales were changed depending on the amylose content of starch (Yang
et al., 2019; Zavareze, Storck, de Castro, Schirmer, & Dias, 2010).
Zavareze et al. (2010) found after HMT, rice starch with medium
amylose content (23%, close to the amylose content of starch studied
here) showed granules agglomeration to some extent due to partial
gelatinization, while the starch with low amylose content (7%) showed
more pronounced loss of physical integrity and characteristic of partial
S. Yang et al. Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802

Table 1
Short- and long-range molecular order, and gelatinization properties of native and HMT-modified starch.
Parameter PS PS-STPP PS-SC HPS HPS-STPP HPS-SC

R1047/1017 0.455 ± 0.005b 0.441 ± 0.003c 0.435 ± 0.002d 0.493 ± 0.004a 0.446 ± 0.003c 0.399 ± 0.002e
R1017/994 0.796 ± 0.004c 0.827 ± 0.003b 0.795 ± 0.005c 0.781 ± 0.006d 0.830 ± 0.003b 0.858 ± 0.004a
XRD crystallinity (%) 30.13 ± 0.48b 29.35 ± 0.22c 28.61 ± 0.33d 38.84 ± 0.36a 26.58 ± 0.18e 14.71 ± 0.49f
Perfect crystallinity (%) 22.35 ± 0.37b 20.08 ± 0.47c 18.84 ± 0.29d 25.57 ± 0.41a 15.69 ± 0.52e 8.57 ± 0.26f
Imperfect crystallinity (%) 7.78 ± 0.24d 9.27 ± 0.28c 9.77 ± 0.24c 13.27 ± 0.32a 10.89 ± 0.33b 6.14 ± 0.52e
To (oC) 59.88 ± 0.28d 61.68 ± 0.15c 64.28 ± 0.21a 63.65 ± 0.13b 63.36 ± 0.25b 58.67 ± 0.22d
Tp (oC) 62.13 ± 0.18d 67.34 ± 0.21c 71.91 ± 0.22a 69.52 ± 0.19b 71.88 ± 0.25a 61.81 ± 0.25d
Tc (oC) 67.53 ± 0.23f 75.67 ± 0.19d 79.83 ± 0.25a 76.15 ± 0.22c 76.92 ± 0.21b 72.35 ± 0.19e
ΔH (J/g) 6.66 ± 0.15b 5.98 ± 0.24c 5.65 ± 0.24d 6.96 ± 0.13a 4.97 ± 0.29e 4.33 ± 0.33f

Data are expressed as mean value of three replications ± standard deviation. Mean values signed with different letters in particular rows are significantly different at a
0.05 level of confidence. R1047/1017: the ratios of IR absorbance at 1047 to 1017 cm− 1; R1017/994: the ratios of IR absorbance at 1017 to 994 cm− 1; To: onset temperature;
Tp: peak temperature; Tc: conclusion temperature; ΔH: melting enthalpy during gelatinization; PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: potato starch with sodium tripo­
lyphosphate; PS-SC: potato starch with sodium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium tripoly­
phosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium chloride.

gelatinization. among starch molecules to interact with hydroxyl groups (Chiotelli

3.3. Short-range molecular order of starch
FTIR was used to investigate the short-range order of starch. All of
the starch samples showed characteristic carbohydrate absorption peaks
in the range of 4000 to 800 cm− 1, as presented in Fig. 3A. A wide and
strong infrared absorption peak in the range of 3700-3000 cm− 1 was
observed for each sample, corresponding to the O–H stretching vibration
of starch, and the absorption peak at 2930 cm− 1 was assigned to the
vibrations of CH2 (Yang, Dhital, et al., 2021). The range of 1200-900
cm− 1 (Fig. 3B) is considered the finger-print region of carbohydrates and
involved with C–O, C–C and C–O–H stretching, and C–O–H bending of
starch. Specifically, the absorbance bands at 1047 cm− 1 and 1017 cm− 1
are sensitive to ordered (or crystalline) structures and amorphous
structures respectively, and the band at 994 cm− 1 ascribed to C–O–H
bending vibrations, is especially sensitive to the water-starch interaction
(van Soest, Tournois, de Wit, & Vliegenthart, 1995). For this reason, the
absorbance ratios of 1047/1017 cm− 1 and 1017/994 cm− 1 were
calculated from the deconvoluted IR spectra (Fig. 3C) and used to
quantify the degree of ordered structure in starch and the interaction
between starch and water (Chen, Ma, et al., 2019; van Soest et al., 1995).
As seen in Table 1, compared to native potato starch, HMT-modified
native starch (HPS) had a higher R1047/1017 value (0.493) and lower
R1017/994 value (0.781). This results illustrates that starch chains rear­
ranged during HMT and formed a more ordered structure at the short-
range level, thus decreasing the interaction with water molecules (Liu,
Zhang, Chen, Li, & Zheng, 2019). In addition, the presence of sodium
tripolyphosphate and sodium chloride significantly reduced the
short-range molecular order of potato starch, as indicated by the
decreased R1017/994 values in Table 1. The presence of sodium cations
could enter the starch granules and dissociate the hydrogen bonds
et al., 2002), destroying the stability of double helical structure and
resulting in lessening short-range molecular order. After HMT, the
R1047/1017 value of starch added sodium chloride markedly decreased
from 0.435 to 0.399, while the R1017/996 value conversely rose from
0.795 to 0.858. This was mainly induced by the partial gelatinization of
HPS-SC that occurred during HMT (as proved by the decreased melting
enthalpy in DSC results and granule agglomeration in Fig. 1). This would
result in reduced tightness or unwinding of the double helix and increase
the water-starch interactions (improving chain mobility) in HPS-SC.
Regarding PS-STPP and HPS-STPP, there was no significant difference
in R1047/1017 and R1017/996 value. Generally, sodium tripolyphosphate as
a common crosslinking agent can promote the crosslinking interactions
within starch at pH 10–12 (normally in an aqueous starch slurry).
However, in this study no significant difference was found in the char­
acteristic peaks at 1230, 930, and 810 cm− 1 which were ascribed to the
P=O stretching, P–OH stretching, and P–O–C aliphatic bond (Gha­
nadpour, Carosio, Larsson, & Wagberg, 2015), respectively. This
demonstrated that rare phosphorylation occurred in PS-STPP and
HPS-STPP samples, which could be attributed to the limited water and
neutral environment in PS-STPP and HPS-STPP samples.
3.4. Long-range ordered structure
X-ray diffraction was used to investigate the long-range molecular
order of starch before and after treatment. Native potato starch (PS)
showed a typical B-type diffraction pattern, with the strongest diffrac­
tion peak at around distinct peaks at 17◦ (2θ) and a few small peaks at
around 5.6◦ , 15◦ , 22◦ , and 24◦ . The XRD crystallinity of native PS was
30.13%, while the value increased to 38.84% when PS was subjected to
HMT (Table 1). Meanwhile, the perfect and imperfect crystallinities of
potato starch (22.35% and 7.78%, respectively) also rose to %25.57%

Fig. 3. FTIR spectra and deconvoluted FTIR spectra of native potato starch and HMT starch samples. A: FTIR spectra of all starch samples; B: original infrared
absorption peaks in the range of 1200-900 cm− 1; C: deconvoluted FTIR spectra in the range of 1200-900 cm− 1. PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: potato starch with
sodium tripolyphosphate; PS-SC: potato starch with sodium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium
tripolyphosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium chloride.

5
S. Yang et al. Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802

and 13.27% after HMT. This increment in starch crystallinity was

associated with the realignment of starch chains to form more orderly
packed crystallites and more double helical structures in amorphous
lamellae during the HMT (Xiao, Liu, Wei, Shen, & Wang, 2017), as
indicated by the increased perfect crystallinity and higher R1047/1017
value. The introduction of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium chlo­
ride significantly decreased the total XRD crystallinity and perfect
crystallinity of starch samples, but substantially increased the imperfect
crystallinity. This was mainly attributed to the entrance of sodium cat­
ions, leading to the dissociation of the hydrogen bonds in the
semi-crystalline region, the movement of the adjacent double helices
(Hoover, 2010), and the structural transformation of starch crystallites
from perfection to imperfection. Meantime, the anions (chloride or tri­
polyphosphate anions) were repelled from granules due to the anion
exclusion (Nicol, Isobe, Clark, Matubayasi, & Shimizu, 2019). Notably,
the total and perfect crystallinities of PS-STPP and PS-SC remarkably
decreased after HMT. Together with FTIR results in Table 1, it was
concluded that HMT facilitated the disorganizations of orderly packed
crystalline structure and the unwinding of the double helix in starch
with salts. On one hand, the thermal energy produced during HMT
improved the mobility of starch chains and facilitated the entrance of
sodium cations to starch granules to dissociate hydrogen bonds and
interact with hydroxyl groups of starch (Chiotelli et al., 2002). On the
other hand, we speculated when subjected to the pressure in the HMT
process, chloride anions which were repelled from granules at first could
overcome the exclusion forces to pass into the granules and interrupt
hydrogen bonds, thus increasing the accessible hydration sites with
water (to be partially gelatinized) or sodium cations and leading to more
losses of molecular order in HPS-SC.

3.5. Swelling power and amylose leaching

Fig. 4A presented the swelling power of native starch and HMT

starch. With respect to native starch, the swelling power of native potato
starch was about 24.20 g/g, while this value was greatly decreased to
11.00 g/g after HMT. The reduction in swelling power could be probably
ascribed to the internal rearrangement of the starch molecular chains
and the formation of more ordered double helical amylopectin side-
chain clusters in the crystalline region after being subjected to HMT,
leading to an increasingly rigid structure and a reduced swelling of
starch granules (Chen et al., 2019). Fig. 4. Swelling power (A) and amylose leaching content (B) of native starch
For salt-added groups, the swelling power of PS-STPP and PS-SC was and HMT-modified starch samples. PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: potato
greatly decreased to 15.62 g/g and 16.81 g/g respectively, compare to starch with sodium tripolyphosphate; PS-SC: potato starch with sodium chlo­
that of PS. On one hand, this reduction in swelling power could be ride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified potato starch
with added sodium tripolyphosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified potato starch
attributed to the changed “water structure” leading to the diminished
with added sodium chloride. Different letters in particular temperatures rep­
fraction of free water (the real diluent) and the higher viscosity of the
resented significant difference at a 0.05 level of confidence.
solution, due to the hydration of salt. These changes would retard the
diffusion of salt solution into the starch granules and reduce the diluent
granules and restrict the progressive swelling. Moreover, as shown in
concentration within the granules, thus decreasing the water-binding
Fig. 4A, HMT significantly decreased the swelling power of HPS-STPP
capacity of starch (Jane, 1993). On the other hand, starch-ions in­
(11.73 g/g) and HPS-SC (12.02 g/g) compared to physically mixed
teractions contributed to the decreased swelling power of salt groups.
samples (PS-STPP and HPS-SC), respectively. This indicated that after
Due to the electronegative nature of starch (Donnan potential), cations
HMT, these effects induced by “water structure” changes and starch-ions
were attracted by the hydroxyl groups and negatively charged phos­
interactions was more pronounced due to the dwindling double helixes
phate monoesters groups in potato starch chains (Chiotelli et al., 2002),
and disorganization of supra-molecular structure, leading to less
and entered the granules to replace there a number of hydrogen ions.
accessible hydration sites in HPS-STPP and HPS-SC samples.
These exchanges led to a reduction in accessible hydration sites of starch
Fig. 4B presented the amylose leaching content of starch samples
and the water-binding capacity of starch chains, thus restricting the
heated at 50, 60, 70, 80, and 95 ◦ C for 30 min, respectively. At 50 ◦ C, the
subsequent swelling of the granules. Besides, the differences in swelling
amylose leaching contents of all starch samples at this temperature were
power between PS-STPP and PS-PC could be attributed to the anion
quite low. The amylose leaching of HPS, HPS-STPP, and HPS-SC starch
accessibility difference inside starch granules (Nicol et al., 2019). The
heating at 60 ◦ C slightly rose due to the leakage of amylose caused by the
monovalent anions like chloride anions were less efficiently excluded
partial gelatinization during HMT, whereas the amylose leaching con­
from the starch granules than polyvalent anions (such as tripolyphos­
tents of starch without HMT were still quite low. The remarkable
phate anions) (Chiotelli et al., 2002). This led to that some of chloride
increment of amylose leaching was found in starch samples heating at
anions could pass into the granules, interrupt the hydrogen bonds, and
70 ◦ C, arising from the disintegration of swollen granules. Due to starch
increase the accessible hydration sites with water (or sodium cations),
gelatinization, the granular structure of starch was destroyed, and thus
while tripolyphosphate anions were still repelled to stabilize starch

6
S. Yang et al.
the amount of leached amylose greatly increased than those heated at
60 ◦ C. Similar to swelling power results, HPS had much lower leached
amylose (8.94%) than native starch PS (18.08%) when heated at 80 ◦ C,
which could be attributed to the increased short- and long-range mo­
lecular order resulted from HMT (Table 1) and less swelling of starch
granules (Fig. 4A). In the presence of salt, owing to the exclusion effect
of salts and less swelling of starch granules mentioned above (Fig. 4A),
PS-STPP, PS-SC, HPS-STPP, and HPS-SC had less amylose leaching than
PS and HPS, respectively. It was noted that at 95 ◦ C, starch added with
sodium tripolyphosphate (PS-STPP and HPS-STPP) had higher amylose
leaching than those with sodium chloride (PS-SC and HPS-SC). This
revealed that tripolyphosphate anions could stabilize the granules as a
result of anion exclusion forces.
3.6. Iodine-staining observations of gelatinized starch granules
Amylose contained in and outside of the starch granules could be
easily captured by the iodine staining, which would form the blue-
colored inclusion complexes that can be clearly observed through light
microscopy (Blaszczak et al., 2020; Langton & Hermansson, 1989).
Herein, starch granules of PS, PS-STPP, PS-SC, HPS, HPS-STPP, and
Fig. 5. Microscopy observations of starch samples after heating at 50, 60, 70, and 95 ◦ C for 30 min, respectively. PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: potato starch
with sodium tripolyphosphate; PS-SC: potato starch with sodium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified potato starch with added
sodium tripolyphosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium chloride.
7
Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802
HPS-SC stained with iodine after heating at 50, 60, 70, and 95 ◦ C for 30
min respectively were shown in Fig. 5. At 50 ◦ C, starch granules in all
samples exhibited typical granular morphologies of potato starch with
round (or oval) and distinct shapes and were visualized in the micro­
graphs as black spots before gelatinization. Correspondingly, the
amylose leaching contents of starch samples at this temperature were
quite low (Fig. 4B). When heated at 60 ◦ C for 30 min, the starch granules
in the control group began to swell up, and some of the swollen granules
were visible as purple-blue-mazarine ovals, where red, blue, and dark
parts respectively corresponded to amylopectin-iodine complexes,
amylose-iodine complexes, and non-gelatinized parts (Blaszczak et al.,
2020). Meanwhile, some blue-colored amylose-iodine complexes were
observed in the space among starch granules due to the partial leakage
of amylose, especially in HPS-SC samples as discussed above in amylose
leaching. At 70 ◦ C, due to starch swelling and gelatinization, the gran­
ular structure of starch in PS, PS-STPP, and PS-SC began to be destroyed,
while HMT-modified samples (HPS, HPS-STPP, and HPS-SC) were
observed to have less swelling (smaller granule size) and some of the
granules retained the main granular structure, which was in agreement
with Varatharajan, Hoover, Liu, and Seetharaman (2010). This visually
proved that HMT treatment delayed the gelatinization process and the
S. Yang et al. Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802

presence of salt reduced the water-binding ability of starch granules, Table 2

thus causing a decreased swelling and amylose leaching as revealed in RVA parameters and cross-over temperature of starch samples.
Fig. 4. In addition, there were many amylose-iodine complexes observed Parameter PS PS- PS-SC HPS HPS- HPS-
in the micrographs of HPS-STPP and HPS-SC starch, which was probably STPP STPP SC
associated with the partial gelatinization caused by sodium cations Pasting 68.10 75.22 75.15 77.31 79.91 78.89
during HMT. temperature ± ± ± ± ± ±
When heated at 95 ◦ C for 30 min, the starch granules were totally (oC) 0.26e 0.18d 0.22d 0.25c 0.26a 0.23b
disintegrated, and a continuous and homogeneous dispersion was Peak viscosity 3071 892 ± 930 ± 305 ± 95 ± 50 ±
(cp) ± 142a 88b 63b 42c 27d 13e
observed in the microscopy of the control starch paste (as seen from Breakdown 1065 9 ± 4c 54 ± – – –
PS95, Fig. 5). The amylose- and amylopectin-iodine complexes were viscosity (cp) ± 83a 17b
evenly dispersed, and this was also accorded with the study of Blaszczak Viscosity at the 2006 883 ± 876 ± 397 ± 271 ± 70 ±
et al. (2020). In the presence of salt (PS-STPP and PS-SC), a homoge­ start of ± 126a 80b 42b 37c 28d 12e
cooling (cp)
neous dispersion was observed, whereas a few amylopectin interacted
Setback 386 ± 171 ± 348 ± 206 ± 112 ± 29 ± 8f
with sodium cations were embedded in the continuous phase. As dis­ viscosity (cp) 22a 25d 26b 19c 12e
cussed above, the HMT treatment restricted the amylose leaching and Final viscosity 2392 1054 1224 603 ± 383 ± 99 ±
delayed the disintegrating process of starch granules, so that there were (cp) ± 187a ± 87c ± 62b 47d 35e 16f
more intact starch granules (or granule fragments) left in HMT-modified Rt (oC) 60.77 65.47 62.93 64.65 68.72 64.85

starch (especially in HPS-STPP and HPS-SC) even after heating for 30

min. These results demonstrated the role of HMT and salt in the gela­
tinization process of starch in a more visual manner.
3.7. RVA pasting properties
The effect of salt on the RVA viscosity profiles of starch and HMT
starch was shown in Fig. 6 and Table 2. Evidently, HMT could increase
the pasting temperature and decrease the pasting viscosity of potato
starch, regardless of the presence of salt. For native potato starch (PS)
and its modified starch (HPS), the increase in pasting temperature from
68.10 ◦ C to 77.31 ◦ C indicated that more energy was needed to disin­
tegrate the granular structure of starch during heating, and was caused
by the increasing molecular order induced by HMT (Table 1). This was
also reported by Yassaroh et al. (2019). In addition, the breakdown
viscosities recording the disruption progress of swollen starch granules
after gelatinization were much lower in HMT-modified starch,
compared to that of native starch, suggesting the improvement of heat
and shear stability of starch induced by HMT (Abraham, 1993; Hormdok
et al., 2007; Schafranski et al., 2021).
Regarding the salt groups, it could be inferred from Table 2 that
compared to the counterparts of native starch, pasting temperatures
were significantly increased in the presence of salt, accompanied by
conspicuous reductions in pasting viscosities. These findings were also
mentioned in the published literature (Yang, Xu, & Wang, 2021; Zhang
± ± ± ± ± ±
0.18e 0.23b 0.36d 0.18c 0.24a 0.25c
Mean values signed with different letters in particular rows are significantly
different at a 0.05 level of confidence. “-” means that viscosity difference be­
tween peak viscosity and trough viscosity is negative (minimum viscosity is
higher than peak viscosity). Rt: cross-over temperature in temperature ramp
test; PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: potato starch with sodium tripolyphos­
phate; PS-SC: potato starch with sodium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato
starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium tripoly­
phosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium chloride.
et al., 2021). As discussed above, “water structure” and starch-ions in­
teractions were two important contributions to salt-induced changes in
gelatinization (Zhou et al., 2014). The hydrated salts resulted in a
diminished fraction of free water (the real diluent) and a higher viscosity
of the solution, preventing the diffusion of salt solution into the starch
granules and decreasing the diluent concentration within the granules,
thus increasing the resistance of starch to gelatinization and improving
the pasting temperature (Jane, 1993). On the other hand, sodium cat­
ions could replace a number of hydrogen ions to reduce the
water-binding ability of starch granules and restrict the amylose leach­
ing, leading to delayed pasting temperatures and lower pasting viscos­
ities (Hedayati, Shahidi, Majzoobi, Koocheki, & Farahnaky, 2020). After
being subjected to HMT, this effect was more pronounced, and the
introduction of chloride anions induced by the hydrothermal treatment
would rupture the hydrogen bonds among starch molecules and
starch-water molecules to enhance the replacement of sodium cations
(Chiotelli et al., 2002), resulting in lower pasting viscosities of HPS-SC
than HPS-STPP (Jane, 1993; Zhou et al., 2014).

3.8. Rheological properties

The dynamic rheology technique could be used to investigate the

Fig. 6. Pasting curves of 6% native starch and HMT modified starch samples.
PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: potato starch with sodium tripolyphosphate;
PS-SC: potato starch with sodium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch;
HPS-STPP: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium tripolyphosphate;
HPS-SC: HMT modified potato starch with added sodium chloride.
starch gelatinization process under shear force (Dong, Zhang, Gao,
Chen, & Vasanthan, 2021). Owing to starch gelatinization, storage
modulus (G′ ) and loss modulus (G′′ ) of starch samples varied with the
increasing temperature (from 55 ◦ C to 95 ◦ C) as shown in Fig. 7A. At the
beginning of heating, the magnitude of G′′ was higher than G′ , illus­
trating the liquid-like behavior of starch samples during this tempera­
ture range. However, with increasing heating temperature, G′ and G′′
values rose remarkably as a result of the rising granule rigidity (Chiotelli
et al., 2002), and intersected at a temperature named cross-over point
(Liu et al., 2016). After cross-over point, the magnitude of G′′ was lower
than G’, reporting a solid-like behavior. For native potato starch (PS),
the cross-over temperature (Rt) was about 60.77 ◦ C. while the value
increased to 64.65 ◦ C after HMT. The increase in structural transition
temperature was mainly attributed to a more ordered structure and
higher XRD crystallinity caused by the HMT process, which required
more energy to disintegrate the granular structure of starch during

8
S. Yang et al. Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802

by HMT and sodium chloride.

3.9. Texture evaluation of starch dough

Binder paste as a continuous matrix can disperse solid starch gran­

ules to form a starch dough and plays a vital role in determining the
processing characteristics of the starch dough and noodle texture (Tan
et al., 2009). In this study, treated starch (salt-treated starch and
HMT-modified starch) was used as the binder, and mixed with dry starch
and a specific amount of water, resulting in a viscoelastic dough. As
tabulated in Table 3, binder paste employed in the starch dough from
different treatments greatly affected the textural properties of the
dough. With HMT-modified starch (HPS, HPS-STPP and HPS-SC)
applied as binder pastes, starch doughs showed firmer and less elastic
textures than other treatments containing PS, PS-STPP and PS-SC. Starch
dough prepared by HPS-SC was found to have the highest hardness
(17.53 N) which was about 32.2% and 10.5% higher than those made by
PS and HPS, respectively. As discussed above, starch paste prepared by
HPS, HPS-STPP and HPS-SC had weaker gel structure, less-viscous na­
ture, and lower inclination to retrogradation (lower setback values in
RVA results). Therefore, when they were introduced into the starch
dough as a thin, low-shear-strength film between the starch granules,
these starch pastes tended to form a more solid-like texture (Wang et al.,
2018). It was noteworthy that dough with PS-SC also exhibited higher
hardness (16.55 N), lower springiness (0.435), and lower cohesiveness
(0.405) than those with PS and PS-STPP. The reason behind this phe­
nomenon was that the changed water distribution of water molecules
within the dough network induced by sodium chloride would affect the

Table 3
Textural properties of starch dough and cooked starch noodles prepared by
different treated starch.
Parameter PS PS- PS-SC HPS HPS- HPS-SC
STPP STPP

Textural parameters of starch dough

Hardness (N) 13.26 13.61 16.55 15.86 16.44 17.53
Fig. 7. Temperature sweep (A) and frequency sweep (B) curves of 25% native ± ± ± 0.75c ± 0.47c ± ±
starch and HMT modified starch samples. PS: native potato starch; PS-STPP: 0.84d 1.16d 0.58b 0.63a
potato starch with sodium tripolyphosphate; PS-SC: potato starch with so­ Springiness 0.651 0.522 0.435 0.503 0.488 0.418
dium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified ± ± ± ± ± ±
potato starch with added sodium tripolyphosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified 0.008a 0.007b 0.006e 0.004c 0.009d 0.008f
Cohesiveness 0.618 0.497 0.405 0.469 0.438 0.353
potato starch with added sodium chloride.
± ± ± ± ± ±
0.016a 0.009b 0.012e 0.013c 0.011d 0.010f
heating and thus delayed the cross-over temperature. Concerning the Cooking properties of starch noodles
salts groups, HPS-STPP and HPS-SC reported higher cross-over tem­ Cooking loss 8.56 ± 8.72 ± 6.15 ± 5.89 ± 5.23 ± 4.08 ±
(%) 0.23a 0.48a 0.57b 0.72b 0.51b 0.66c
peratures (68.72 ◦ C and 64.85 ◦ C, respectively) than HPS (64.65 ◦ C), due Ratio of 13.33 11.11 8.89 ± 8.89 ± 6.67 ± 2.22 ±
to the less swelling and the delay of rigidity increase of starch granules broken ± ± 3.85ab 3.85ab 0.00bc 3.85c
induced by salts. These results were also revealed by the above RVA noodles (%) 0.00a 3.85ab
(Table 2) and amylose leaching (Fig. 4B) results. Chiotelli et al. (2002) Textural properties of starch noodles
Hardness (N) 8.35 ± 8.45 ± 8.76 ± 8.59 ± 8.47 ± 8.97 ±
also proved the addition of sodium chloride could delay the rigidity
0.23c 0.16bc 0.11b 0.15b 0.22bc 0.07a
increase of potato starch during heating and thus led to higher Chewiness 6.76 ± 6.78 ± 7.01 ± 6.86 ± 6.92 ± 7.12 ±
cross-over temperatures (depending on salt concentration) in the tem­ (mJ) 0.08e 0.05e 0.03b 0.04d 0.03c 0.06a
perature ramp test. Springiness 0.824 0.813 0.832 0.831 0.842 0.887
Frequency sweep tests showed that G′ value was higher than G′′ ± ± ± ± ± ±
0.005d 0.004e 0.005c 0.003c 0.006b 0.003a
value in all gelatinized starch samples (Fig. 7B), stressing that the elastic
Cohesiveness 0.810 0.826 0.841 0.843 0.837 0.858
behavior dominated over the frequency range (1–300 rad/s). Compared ± ± ± ± ± ±
to PS, HPS and HPS-SC had higher G′ values, while HPS-STPP presented 0.006e 0.007d 0.006b 0.004b 0.003c 0.010a
the lowest G′ value among all samples. This result demonstrated that Mean values signed with different letters in particular rows are significantly
although HMT could lead to an increase in G′ and G′′ values of starch different at a 0.05 level of confidence. Cooking loss (%) was calculated as the
gels, the type of salt played an important role in affecting the anti- percentage of the weight ratio of dried solid losses over uncooked starch noo­
disintegration ability of starch gels to shear deformation. Combining dles. Ratio of broken noodles (%) was calculated as the percentage of the strands
sodium chloride and HMT could significantly improve the dynamic ratio of broken noodles over uncooked starch noodles. PS: native potato starch;
rheological stability of starch gels. Such an increment in G’ could be PS-STPP: potato starch with sodium tripolyphosphate; PS-SC: potato starch with
attributed to the decreased granular swelling and amylose leaching sodium chloride; HPS: HMT modified potato starch; HPS-STPP: HMT modified
(Hoover, 2010), thereby tending to increase granule rigidity as affected potato starch with added sodium tripolyphosphate; HPS-SC: HMT modified
potato starch with added sodium chloride.

9
S. Yang et al.
formation of the hydrated film on the surface of starch granules, thus
leading to a firmer texture of starch dough (Wang et al., 2018).
3.10. Cooking and texture properties of wet starch noodles
As seen in Table 3, with HMT-modified starch applied as binder
paste, starch noodles had lower cooking loss (4.08–5.89%) and less
broken noodles (2.22–8.89%) than noodles prepared by native starch
(PS, PS-STPP and PS-SC) during cooking. In the findings of Chandla et al.
(2017), they revealed that starch noodles with the substitution of 100%
HMT modified amaranth starch had firmer textures and higher spring­
iness than control starch noodles. Starch noodles made by HPS-SC had
the least solids loss (4.08%) and ratio of broken noodles (2.22%)
compared to those made by HPS and HPS-STPP, and also had less broken
noodles than the commercial potato starch noodles reported by Yang,
Zhang, et al. (2021). Meanwhile, starch noodles prepared by HMT-SC
had higher hardness, chewiness and springiness than those made by
HMT starch without salts, presenting firmer, chewier, and more elastic
noodle textures. These tendencies were similar with the textural prop­
erties of starch doughs. In the production of starch noodles, starch
granules were completely destroyed in the gelatinization process to form
a starch paste that exhibited a continuous honeycomb-like network
structure, while lateral aggregation of amylopectin chains dominated
the retrogradation process to form a retrograded starch gel that could
endure the cooking stress (Yang, Zhang, et al., 2021). However, due to
the salt-induced inhabitation and delay of starch gelatinization, the
degree of gelatinization was declined under the same noodle processing,
altering the honeycomb-like network structure of starch paste and
tending to be a rigid network structure. In the following retrogradation,
the reduction in the degree of gelatinization accompanied by the pres­
ence of sodium chloride (which could inhibit the formation of hydrogen
bonds among starch chains) greatly affected the re-crystallization
behavior of amylopectin and the molecular order of starch gel (Zheng
et al., 2022). This process improved the rigidity of retrograded starch gel
and affecting the cooking performance of noodles (Li, Dhital, & Wei,
2017; Tang, Li, Wang, Dhital, & Lu, 2019). Therefore, cooked starch
noodles prepared by HPS-SC had higher gel strength, thus presenting
lower cooking loss and broken noodles, higher hardness and better
elasticity than starch noodles prepared by HPS and HPS-STPP. Wang
et al. (2018) also reported that starch paste with weak gel structures
tended to form a more solid-like dough and produce starch noodles with
superior dropping performance.
4. Conclusion
Starch paste as a binder played an important role in determining the
texture of starch dough and the edible quality of starch noodles. In this
study, we investigated the structural, pasting, and rheological properties
of starch with added salts treated with HMT, and applied the complex as
a binder paste in improving the texture of starch noodles. Due to the
partial gelatinization, the presence of salts (especially sodium chloride)
induced noticeable particle agglomerations than HMT-modified starch
without salts. The presence of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium
chloride could lead to the disruptions of short-range ordered structure
and the disorganizations of the long-range ordered structure of starch
during HMT. During gelatinization, HMT-modified starch with added
sodium chloride and sodium tripolyphosphate greatly delayed the dis­
integrating process of starch granules. In the case of HMT-modified
starch with added sodium chloride applied as binder paste, starch
noodles exhibited firmer texture and better elasticity than control noo­
dles and noodles with HMT starch without salts. Although this work
demonstrated the potential of HMT starch with added salts in noodle
production, the underlying mechanism and the related structural
changes remain mysteries to be discovered.
10
Food Hydrocolloids 131 (2022) 107802
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Sha Yang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal
analysis, Writing – original draft. Sushil Dhital: Conceptualization,
Methodology, Writing – review & editing. Meng-Na Zhang: Method­
ology. Jie Wang: Methodology. Zhi-Gang Chen: Funding acquisition,
Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of interests
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Jiangsu Agricultural Industry
Technology System (JATS-2021-475) and the Priority Academic Pro­
gram Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (080-
820830). We want to thank Dr. Da-Jing Li and Ms. Chun-Ju Liu for
providing the DSC instrument.
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