LAUSR

BACKGROUND At present, most studies have focused on the preparation of modified starches by dry grinding. As an excellent starch plasticizer, water might enhance the action of grinding on the structure of starch granules, and water grinding might improve the gel properties of starch. Therefore, this paper explored the influence mechanism of water grinding on the gel properties of corn starch based on the changes in its structure and properties. RESULTS The results showed that water grinding could make water enter the starch granules and hydrate the starch molecules, and the starch gelatinized after water grinding for 20 min. Thus water enhanced the action of grinding on the structure of the starch granules. Under the plasticization and grinding action of water grinding, the mechanochemical effect of the starch granules occurred. When the starch was in the aggregation stage (7.5-10 min), the crystallinity of the starch increased, and the starch molecules rearranged into a more stable structure, which increased apparent viscosity (η), elastic modulus (G') and viscous modulus (G") of the starch gels. CONCLUSION Therefore, appropriate water grinding (10 min) contributed to increasing the viscoelasticity of starch gels. This study provided a theoretical foundation for research on improving the properties of starch by mechanical modification in future. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.