Structural changes in polysaccharides isolated from chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) fruit at different degrees of hardening

Hardening is an important physiological disorder of chestnut fruit during storage. In this study, polysaccharides of chestnut (PCs) at 0%, 50% and 100% degrees of hardening (DH) were extracted and then sequentially fractionated using 40% and 80% ethanol in order to obtain PCs I and II. For fresh chestnut, arabinose, fructose, glucose and galactose were the main monosaccharides of PCs I and II. Significantly positive correlations (P < 0.01) existed between xylose, galactose, arabinose contents and DH, while significantly negative correlations (P < 0.01) were present between glucose, fructose contents and DH for both PCs I and II. The appearance in hardening of chestnut fruit was accompanied with decreases in the contents of 1,3-fructose, 1,3- and 1,6-glucose, and increases of 1,4-arabinose, 1,6-galactose and 1,3-xylose. The results confirmed that cell wall degradation of chestnut induced the structural changes in PCs I and II, which further led to the occurrence of hardening.     

Crystallography,morphology and thermal properties of starches from four different medicinal plants of Fritillaria species

To fully understand the medicinal plant, Fritillaria, and its species, we investigated the physical properties of starch contained in four Fritillaria species, Fritillaria thunbergii Miq., Fritillaria ussurensis Maxim., Fritillaria pallidifloca Schrenk and Fritillaria cirrhosa D.Don, by means of various analytical methods. The crystal type of the former three kinds of Fritillaria starches was in characteristic B-type, which was in agreement with the crystal type of potato starch. However, the cirrhosa F. starch showed a typical C_B-type pattern. The degrees of crystallining of the four Fritillaria starches were about 43.2%, 40.5%, 44.8% and 41.8%, corresponding to thunbergii F. starch, ussurensis F. starch, pallidifloca F. starch and cirrhosa F. starch. The granule sizes of the former two Fritillaria starches ranged from 5 to 40 μm, and were cycloidal or elliptic-shaped. However, the latter two Fritillaria starch granules had granule sizes ranging from 5 to 50 μm, and the granule shape varied from oval to irregular or cuboidal. From the thermogravimetric analysis, it was concluded that the thermal stabilities of the four kinds of starch differed from each other, due to their different structures.     

Characterization of new starches separated from different Chinese yam (Dioscorea opposita Thunb.) cultivars

The starches separated from four different Dioscorea opposita Thunb. cultivars were investigated for morphological, thermal, crystal, and physicochemical properties, such as amylose content, swelling power, solubility and water-binding capacity properties. Amylose content of D. oppositastarches from different cultivars ranged from 20.74% to 25.94%. The shape of starch granules separated from different D. opposita Thunb. cultivars varied from round to oval or elliptic. The mean particle diameter of starches ranged from 23.39 to 26.87 μm. The transition temperatures (T_o, T_p and T_c) and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH_gel) were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). T_o, T_p and T_c varied from 73.6 to 74.8, 78.8 to 81.0, and 83.3 to 87.2 °C, respectively. D. opposita cv. Jinchengerhao starch showed the highest ΔH_gel values (12.48 J/g) while D. opposita cv. Baiyu starch showed the lowest values (8.413 J/g). The crystal type of starches separated from different D. opposita cultivars was a typical C_B-type pattern. The degrees of crystallinity of the four D. opposita cultivars starches were about 50.52%, 32.99%, 33.57% and 36.16%, respectively.     

Studies on the physicochemical,morphological, thermal and crystalline properties of starches separated from different Dioscorea opposita cultivars

The physicochemical, morphological, thermal and crystal properties of the starches separated from four different Dioscorea opposita Thunb. cultivars (Taigu, Ribenbai, Wenxi and Zhongbowen) were studied. Amylose contents of D. opposita Thunb. starches from different cultivars ranged from 21.17% to 25.00%. The shape of starch granules separated from different D. opposita Thunb. cultivars varied from round or oval to elliptic or caky. The surface of the starch granules appeared to be smooth without any fissures. The average particle diameter of starches from different D. opposita Thunb. cultivars ranged from 25.90 to 28.06 μm. The transition temperatures (T_o, T_p and T_c) and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH_gel) were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). T_o, T_p, T_c and ΔH_gel of D. opposita Thunb. starches ranged from 73.1 to 73.9, 77.6 to 80.4, 82.1 to 85.9 °C and 6.548 to 12.13 J/g, respectively. The crystal type of starches separated from different D. opposita Thunb. cultivars was a typical C-type pattern. The relative degree of crystallinity of the four D. opposita Thunb. cultivars starches were about 38.79%, 39.88%, 41.67% and 49.03%, respectively.     

Investigation of organic extractives from unifloral chestnut (Castanea sativa L.) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill.) honeys and flowers to identification of botanical marker compounds

Ultrasound-assisted extraction was employed to investigate the composition of extractable compounds from unifloral chestnut and eucalyptus honeys. 1-phenylethanol and 2′-aminoacetophenone are the most powerful botanical markers of chestnut honey. Additionally, cis-cinnamyl alcohol, and p-hydroxyacetophenone were found exclusively in chestnut honey. Organic extractives from whole chestnut flowers were predominated by 1-phenylethanol, nonanal, benzyl alcohol, and nonanoic acid. Of the 16 compounds found in the flower extract, 13 were present in honey as well. Some of them are transferred directly to honey, while in other cases modification reactions take place. Eucalyptus honey is characterized by 2-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-hexanone and 3-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-hexanone, as well as exo-2-hydroxycineole and an unknown norisoprenoid. Aside from, acetoin, nonanal, methyl nonanoate, and dehydrovomifoliol were present in higher concentrations. In eucalyptus flower extracts, norisoprenoids were the most abundant compounds, all of which were also present in the honey samples. 3-Oxo-α-ionone comprised half of the total amount, followed by eucalyptol.     

Nutritional quality of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) cultivars from Portugal

Chemical composition of eight sweet chestnut cultivars from the three protected designation of origin (PDO) areas in the Trás-os-Montes region were studied: Aveleira, Rebordã, Trigueira and Zeive from PDO ‘Terra Fria’, Demanda, Longal and Martaínha from PDO ‘Soutos da Lapa’ and Judia from PDO ‘Padrela’. Chestnuts were characterised by high moisture content (∼50%), high levels of starch (43 g 100 g⁻¹ dry matter – d.m.) and low fat content (3 g 100 g⁻¹ d.m.). Nuts contained significant amounts of fibre (3% d.m.), were rich in K (∼750 mg 100 g⁻¹ d.m.), P (∼120 mg 100 g⁻¹ d.m.) and Mg (∼75 mg 100 g⁻¹ d.m.). Moreover, chestnuts are a good source of total amino acids (6–9 g 100 g⁻¹ d.m.). Amino acid profiles were dominated by l-aspartic acid, followed by l-glutamic acid, leucine, l-alanine and arginine. These results provide additional information about the nutritional value of each cultivar and confirm that chestnuts are an interesting healthy food.     

Physicochemical,thermal, and pasting properties of Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) starches as affected by different drying methods

Starches from raw Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) were isolated and dried by freeze drying and oven drying methods and the physicochemical, thermal, and the pasting properties were evaluated. Results showed that the two drying methods clearly affected the properties of the Chinese chestnut starches (CCS), both in composition, physicochemical, thermal, pasting properties, and functional characteristics. Freeze dried CCS presented the higher RS content, higher thermal properties, higher pasting values, higher solubility, lower syneresis to freezing, and thawing when compared with oven dried CCS. These properties of freeze dried CCS represented a unique starch for food ingredient usage of chestnut.     

Structural characteristics and in vitro digestibility of Mango kernel starches (Mangifera indica L.)

Structural characteristics and digestibility of starches isolated from the kernels of two mango cultivars (Chausa and Kuppi) were studied and compared with those of a commercial normal corn starch. Mango kernel starches showed an A-type X-ray diffraction pattern, with relative crystallinities of 35.4% and 38.3%, respectively for Kuppi and Chausa cultivars. The structural characterisation obtained, using high performance size exclusion column chromatography connected to multi-angle laser light scattering and refractive index detectors (HPSEC-MALLS-RI), revealed that the mango kernel starches had lower molecular weight (M_w) and radius of gyration (R_g) of amylopectin and amylose compared to those of corn starch. The M_w of amylopectin for Chausa and Kuppi starches were 179 × 10⁶ and 140 × 10⁶ g/mol, respectively. The amounts of readily digestible starch (RDS) and slowly digestible starch (SDS) were lower for mango kernel starch than those of corn starch. Resistant starch (RS) contents in the mango kernel starches (75.6% and 80.0%, respectively) were substantially higher than those of corn starch (27.3%). The glycemic index (GI) values for mango kernel starches were 48.8 and 50.9 (for Chausa and Kuppi, respectively), whereas that of corn starch was 74.8, indicating that the mango kernel starch granules were highly resistant to digestion with significant contents of RS.     

Characterizations of starches isolated from five different Dioscorea L. species

The physicochemical, morphological and crystal structure characterization of the starches separated from rhizomes of Dioscorea opposita Thunb. Dioscorea alata Linn., Dioscorea nipponica Makino, Dioscorea bulbifera Linn. and Dioscorea septemloba Thunb. were studied and compared. Amylose content varied between 13.58% and 20.05%. Water-binding capacity, swelling power, solubility and total starch content of starches differed significantly. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that the surface was smooth or rough, the granules were oval to spherical and the size was obviously different. D. nipponica displayed A-type pattern. D. opposita D. alata, D. septemloba and D. bulbifera starches all exhibited C-type crystal. While the crystallinity degree of the starches separated from the five species were about 33.90%, 37.63%, 43.11%, 32.06% and 53.35%, respectively. The gelatinization transition temperatures (T_o, T_p and T_c) and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH_gel) and peak height index (PHI) were determined. D. OT, D. AL and D. BL starches showed the higher enthalpy of gelatinization. Pasting viscosity of D. OT and D. BL starches were much higher than others. The five plants could be separated into two groups: D. OT, D. AL and D. BL; D. ST and D. NM.     

Comparison of the morphological,crystalline, and thermal properties of different crystalline types of starches after acid hydrolysis

A‐type maize starch, B‐type Fritillaria ussurensis, and C‐type Rhizoma dioscorea starches were hydrolyzed (32 days) with 2.2 N HCl. Regardless of the crystallinity level, starch with predominant B‐crystalline type was less susceptible to acid degradation than A‐type and C‐type starches, and initial rates of hydrolysis in B‐type was lower than others. The SEM and XRD results revealed that different types of starch displayed different hydrolysis mechanisms. The acid corrosion started from the exterior surface of A‐type and B‐type starches followed by the core of granules. However, the hydrogen ions primarily attacked the interior of the C‐type R. dioscorea starch granules and then the exterior. FT‐IR results confirmed that the amorphous regions in the starch granules were hydrolysed first. After 8–32 days of hydrolysis, the acid‐modified C‐type starch showed typical A‐type characteristics upon analysis of the XRD pattern. The average particle size of hydrolytic starch decreased with increasing hydrolysis time. The thermal results revealed that the hydrolytic starch showed lower ΔH than the native starch, while displaying higher peak width (T_c − T_o) value.     

Metabolite composition of chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) upon cooking: Proximate analysis,fibre, organic acids and phenolics

The aim of this research was to study the processing effects (roasting and boiling) on primary and secondary metabolite composition of fruits from the following chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) cultivars (cvs.) of three Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) areas in the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro region (Portugal): PDO Terra Fria (cvs. Aveleira, Boaventura, Côta, Lamela and Trigueira), PDO Padrela (cvs. Judia, Lada, Longal and Negra) and PDO Soutos da Lapa (cvs. Longal and Martaínha). The cooking processes significantly (p < 0.0001) affected primary and secondary metabolite composition of the chestnuts. Roasted chestnuts had higher protein contents, insoluble and total dietary fibre and lower fat contents whilst boiled chestnuts had lower protein, but higher fat contents. Cooking increased citric acid contents, especially in roasted chestnuts. On the other hand, raw chestnuts had higher malic acid contents than cooked chestnuts. Moreover, roasted chestnuts had significantly higher gallic acid and total phenolics contents, and boiled chestnuts had higher gallic and ellagic acids contents, when compared to raw chestnuts. The present data confirms that cooked chestnuts are a good source of organic acids and phenolics and have low fat contents, properties that are associated with positive health benefits.     

The effect of starch isolation method on physical and functional properties of Portuguese nuts starches. I. Chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill. var. Martainha and Longal) fruits

The functionality of starch from chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) fruits isolated by alkaline and enzymatic methods were assessed. The studied properties included: solubility, swelling power, pasting properties, synaeresis, turbidity, and thermal and rheological behaviours. In addition amylose and resistant starch content were also evaluated. Results showed that the starch isolation method induced changes in most of those properties. Extracted starches (with high contents of amylose and resistant starch) showed low and similar swelling solubility values for all of the samples. Gelatinisation temperatures were also similar (61.5-63.0 °C), but the enzymatic method induced lower consistencies at 95 °C and after holding at this temperature. High values of setback were found, which were clearly affected by the isolation method. This parameter presented lower values for starches isolated by alkaline method (160 BU and 235 BU, respectively for Martainha and Longal). Starches did not present a peak consistency during pasting. Turbidity and synaeresis values were low at room temperature. Synaeresis increased when pastes were stored at low temperatures. This effect was more evident for the material isolated by enzymatic method. All of the isolation starches presented low enthalpy values (3.0-3.5 J/g), but the activation energy was higher for Martainha starches and for starches isolated by A3S method. Pastes showed viscoelastic behaviour, with a predominance of elastic property, forming strong gels after cooling. Longal variety seems to be less resistant to the effect of isolation method. In general starches isolated by the alkali method present the best functional properties as a food ingredient.     

In vitro digestibility,pasting, and structural properties of starches from different cereals

Starches isolated from seven different cereals were evaluated for their composition, physicochemical, in vitro digestibility, structural, morphological, and pasting properties. The in vitro starch digestion rate and estimated glycemic index (GI) of cereal starches were evaluated along with the impact of cooking on starch digestion. The cooking of starch slurries increased the rapidly digestible starch content from a range of 34.7–54.4% to a range of 60.5–78.5%. On the basis of hydrolysis index, the GI ranged from 83.6 to 91.8 and after cooking it increased from 95.1 to 98.6 for different cereal starches. Both the swelling power and solubility showed an increasing trend with rising temperature. Paste clarity of starches negatively correlated with fat content. The amylose content of various starches ranged from 17.7 to 24.7% and was negatively correlated to crystalline index (r = -0.975, p ≤ 0.05). XRD pattern revealed A-type pattern of crystalline starch, where crystallinity index ranging between 28.2 to 44.9%. FTIR revealed slight differences among chemical bonding of starches from different cereals. From scanning electron micrograph observations, wheat and barley starch granules proved smoother as compared to other cereal granules. Barley contained the highest (27.5 µm) and rice had the lowest (10.2 µm) size starch granules. The pasting properties were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) different for different cereal starches. Peak, breakdown, and final viscosities were the highest for maize starch (1725, 384, and 2112 mPa.s, respectively), whereas rice and oats exhibited the highest trough and setback viscosities (1420 and 954 mPa.s, respectively).     

Physicochemical,morphological, structural,and thermal characteristics of starches separated from Bulbus fritillaria of different cultivars

The starches studied from the nine Fritillaria species had differently shaped and sized granules but all of them showed the presence of smooth, round, or elliptic‐shaped, indicating that the isolation process did not destroyed the starch granules. The nine Fritillaria starches presented different AM content, moisture content, ash content, particle size, swelling power, solubility, water absorption capacity and light transmittance. The starches isolated from Chuan‐Beimu species exhibited a higher amount of crude protein content and lower amount of AM than other the groups, which had lower swelling power, higher solubility and light transmittance. All the nine Fritillaria starches had an XRD pattern of the B‐type. In addition, F. hupehensis, F. walujewii and F. ussuriensis starches with fairly large‐sized or irregular granules had higher T_p and ΔH_gel values than that isolated from the four Chuan‐Beimu species. The results obtained yielded information about the possible behavior of these starches when being used in certain applications. Cluster analysis results showed that this classification method based on macromolecule chemical compounds (starch) is original and credible in the quality control of various Beimu. In addition, it provided more information to the authentication systematics taxonomy methods including morphological, histological and molecular biological techniques of Fritillaria species.     

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on physicochemical, thermal and morphological properties of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) starch

Mung bean starch-water suspension was subjected to high pressure treatment at 120, 240, 360, 480 and 600 MPa for 30 min, and changes in the structure, morphology and some physicochemical properties were investigated. Light transmittance, swelling power and solubility decreased after the high hydrostatic pressure treatment. A significant increase in the peak viscosity, trough viscosity, final viscosity, pasting temperature and setback, and decrease in breakdown viscosity with increase in pressure treatment was observed. The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analysis showed a decrease in gelatinization temperatures and gelatinization enthalpy upon high pressure treatments. The X-ray analysis showed that high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment converted starch that displayed the C-type X-ray pattern to the B-type-like pattern. The HHP treatments altered the shape of starch granules and changed their surface appearance according to SEM analysis. HHP treatment (600 MPa, 30 min) caused a completely gelatinize of mung bean starch.     

Phase transition of cross-linked and hydroxypropylated corn (Zea mays L.) starches

The thermal behaviors of three chemically modified starches (cross-linked waxy corn, hydroxypropylated regular corn, and hydroxypropylated and oxidized waxy corn) were studied using light microscopy, SEM, DSC, XRD, and HPSEC. During the gelatinization process, molecular and crystalline order losses occurred independently from each other. Oxidation treatment altered the effects of hydroxypropylation on starch gelatinization. Both cross-linking and hydroxypropylation tended to preserve granular crystalline order during initial stages of gelatinization. The crystallinities and X-ray patterns of each starch remained essentially unchanged prior to phase transition.