Starch retrogradation determined by differential thermal analysis (DTA)

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) as a novel approach to monitor retrogradation degree of rice starch was investigated in this study. Our results found that the onset temperature (To), the peak temperature (Tp), and the conclusion temperature (Tc) were slightly reduced for the retrograded starch, while the differential temperature (ΔT) was significantly increased with the increasing of storage time (P ≤ 0.05). Based on the measurement of the ΔT, retrogradation degree (DR) of rice starch was evaluated, and it was compared with the data collected from the DSC. The result indicated that there was no significant difference in DR obtained from the two analytical methods, although the DR determined from the DTA was slightly higher than that from the DSC. These findings suggest that the DTA as well as the DSC is suitable for the measurement of starch retrogradation.