Extrusion and Characterization of Starch Films

Starch plasticized with water, glycerol, and stearic acid was extruded and sheeted into films 0.4–0.6 mm thick. The ingredients were extruded in a conical twin‐screw extruder at a temperature profile of 50–120–120–120°C and a screw speed of 45 rpm. The effects of glycerol, water, and stearic acid on selected physical and functional properties of the films were studied. The tensile strength, tensile strain at break, and Young's modulus were 0.23–2.91 MPa, 45.79–90.83%, and 2.89–37.94 MPa, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms exhibited two glass transitions and multiple melting endotherms, including that of amylose‐lipid complexes formed during extrusion. The enthalpy of gelatinization of starch in the extruded films was 0.7–4.1 J/g and was dependent largely on the plasticizer content. Fourier‐transform infrared spectra revealed significant interactions between the starch and plasticizer but the peaks shifted to higher wave numbers with increasing glycerol content. During extrusion in the presence of glycerol, the A‐type crystalline structure of starch was transformed to B‐type. It also was observed that the V_h crystallinity increased with increase in glycerol content due to tight packing of starch chains. The water vapor permeabilities of the starch films were 12.3–19.9 g·mm/hr·m²·kPa.     

Characterization of the Wx gene in diploid Aegilops species and its potential use in wheat breeding

Wx gene encodes for the granule-bound starch synthase I or waxy protein, which is the sole enzyme responsible for amylose synthesis in wheat seeds. The Aegilops species, which are related to wheat, could be important sources of variation in this gene. In addition to its role in starch quality, this gene has been used in phylogenetic studies of wheat. The current study evaluated the variability of Wx gene in seven diploid species of Aegilops genus and compared their nucleotide sequences with the wheat homeologous genes. Nineteen new Wx alleles were found in the seven species evaluated. The alleles detected in two species of the Sitopsis section, Ae. searsii and Ae. speltoides, were related to the Wx-B1 gene of wheat. Two more of the Sitopsis species did not appear to be associated with this genome, whereas the remaining species were related to the Wx-D1 gene of wheat. The results showed an important variation of the Wx gene present in the Aegilops genus, and the 19 new Wx alleles detected could enlarge the genetic pool of wheat.     

Characterization of Maize Starch Nanoparticles Prepared by Acid Hydrolysis

Starch nanoparticles (SNP) from maize starches of varying amylose content (0–71%) were prepared by acid hydrolysis (3.16M H₂SO_4, at 40°C up to 6 days) followed by repeated water washings. During the washing cycles, nonwaxy starches (normal, Hylon V, and Hylon VII) had suspended particles in the water washings, which were not evident in waxy starch. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of SNP in the “cloudy supernatants” of nonwaxy starches and in the “final washed residue” of waxy maize. The objective of this study was to collect SNP fractions accordingly and determine whether variation in the native starch amylose content would influence the yield, morphology, and crystallinity of the SNP. In nonwaxy starches, the yield of SNP increased up to 26.6% with hydrolysis time and was proportional to the amylose content. Morphology of SNP differed with starch type: flat/elliptical (500 nm) in waxy, oval/irregular (50–200 nm) in normal, oval/round (40–50 nm) in Hylon V, and square/polygonal (50–100 nm) in Hylon VII. X‐ray diffraction confirmed the presence of A‐type crystals in SNP from all starch types and a crystalline transformation from B‐ to A‐type in Hylon starches. The relative crystallinity of SNP was higher than their native starch counterparts.     

热塑性辐照玉米淀粉薄膜的制备及表征

为了提高热塑性淀粉基薄膜的力学性能,采用0、10、20、30、40、50 kGy 6个剂量的~(60)Co-γ射线对玉米淀粉进行辐照处理,研究辐照对玉米淀粉结构、颗粒尺寸的影响;并以辐照玉米淀粉为原材料,采用挤出造粒、熔融吹塑法制备热塑性辐照玉米淀粉薄膜,研究辐照剂量对热塑性薄膜力学性能、表面形貌的影响。结果表明,~(60)Co-γ射线能够有效破坏玉米淀粉分子内、分子间氢键,降低玉米淀粉的刚性;能够有效减小玉米淀粉的颗粒尺寸,增加玉米淀粉的加工流动性。随着辐照剂量的增加,热塑性辐照玉米淀粉薄膜的力学性能不断增加;未熔融颗粒不断减少,表面形貌更加均匀、平整。综合考虑热塑性辐照玉米淀粉薄膜的力学性能和钴源能耗,40kGy剂量辐照的玉米淀粉制备的热塑性淀粉基降解薄膜更具有实用价值。本研究结果为辐照玉米淀粉制造热塑性降解薄膜提供了理论依据和实际参考。     

Thermal and Functional Characterization of Starch from Argentinean Corn

Screening accessions in a germplasm bank aids in the identification of plants with unusual properties ranging from agronomic traits to functional and compositional traits of the seed itself. Results from this study confirm the presence of a wide variation in the thermal and functional properties of starch from several landraces of corn in the Argentinean germplasm. Thermal properties of starch measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) identified several corn landraces with properties of potential commercial interest. The pasting and textural properties of gels obtained from starch of different corn landraces also exhibited considerable variability. The degree of variation in thermal and functional properties of corn reported in this study is comparable to the thermal properties of starch from several other crop species. These corn races show promise for further regeneration to create inbred lines with unusual traits. The potential for further improvement of corn races exists not only based on thermal properties, but directly for specific functional attributes as well. Correlation analyses suggest that the variability in thermal and functional attributes are a function of amylose content, granule size distribution and, possibly, differences in the structural makeup of amylose and amylopectin. The strong correlation observed between the thermal properties and pasting and textural properties will allow for the estimation of starch properties from small sample sizes.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Starch Acetates with High Substitution

Acetylation of high‐amylose (70%) maize starch to high degree of substitution (DS) was studied by reacting starch with acetic anhydride using 50% aqueous NaOH as the catalyst. DS increased with increasing reaction times and increasing ratios of acetic anhydride to starch. Reaction efficiency (RE) increased with longer reaction times and decreased with increases in the ratios of acetic anhydride to starch for extended reaction times. Increasing the amount of NaOH increased both DS and RE. A series of starch acetates with DS values of 0.57–2.23 were prepared and their crystalline structures, chemical structures, thermal stability, and morphological properties were investigated. After acetylation, and as DS increased from 0.57 to 2.23, the crystalline structures of starch steadily disappeared. The carbonyl group's peak at 1,740 cm^‐1 appeared in the FTIR spectra. The intensity of this peak increased with a decrease in the peak intensity of the hydroxyl groups at 3,000‐3,600 cm^‐1, indicating that the hydroxyl groups on starch were replaced by the acetyl groups. Thermal stability of starch acetates increased. The smooth surface of the starch granules became rough with acetylation. Further acetylation led to the loss of the starch granules and the formation of beehive‐ and fibrous‐like structures.     

Partial Characterization of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) Starch

Laboratory-isolated buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) starch was compared to commercial corn and wheat starches. Buckwheat starch granules (2.9–9.3 μm) were round and polygonal with some holes and pits on the surface. Buckwheat starch had higher amylose content, waterbinding capacity, and peak viscosity, and it had lower intrinsic viscosity when compared with corn and wheat starches. Buckwheat starch also showed restricted swelling power at 85–95°C and lower solubility in water at 55–95°C and was more susceptible to acid and enzymatic attack. Gelatinization temperatures, determined by differential scanning calorimetry, were 61.1–80.1°C for buckwheat starch compared to 64.7–79.2°C and 57.1–73.5°C for corn and wheat starches, respectively. A second endotherm observed at 84.5°C was an amylose-lipid complex attributed to the internal lipids in buckwheat starch, as evidenced by selective extraction. The retrogradation of buckwheat, corn, and wheat starch gels was examined after storage at 25, 4, and -12°C for 1–15 days. In general, buckwheat starch retrogradation was slower than that of corn and wheat starch, but it increased as storage time increased, as did that of the other starch pastes. When the values of the three storage temperatures were averaged for each storage period analyzed, buckwheat starch gels showed a lower percentage of retrogradation than did corn and wheat starch gels. Buckwheat starch also had a lower percentage of water syneresis when stored at 4°C for 3–10 days and had better stability to syneresis after three freeze-thaw cycles at -12 and 25°C.     

Preparation and Characterization of Starch Particles for Use in Pickering Emulsions

Particle‐stabilized emulsions, called Pickering emulsions, can be produced by using starch particles. In this work we studied how the properties of the starch particles affect the droplet size and creaming of such emulsions. In the study, various sizes of starch particles were generated by two different methods and used to stabilize Pickering emulsions. Sedimentation according to Stokes’ law was used to separate small and large starch granules. Acid hydrolysis was another method used to obtain smaller particles. All samples were modified with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) to increase their hydrophobicity with a level of OSA substitution between 1.8 and 3.1%. The size of starch particles was the main factor influencing emulsion droplet sizes. Furthermore, the droplet size decreased as the starch concentration increased. Using small starch particles with sizes <10 μm produced stable emulsions with smaller droplet size compared with larger sizes of starch particles, >10 μm. When subjected to acid hydrolysis, smaller starch particles were generally obtained, which could subsequently create smaller emulsion droplets. The emulsion index increased for the acid‐hydrolyzed starch owing to the size reduction of starch particles. The shape of the starch seemed to have a minor impact on the droplet size and the creaming of Pickering emulsions.     

顶芒和无芒山羊草育种价值及细胞学标记

为了评价顶芒山羊草和无芒山羊草在小麦育种中的利用价值,本研究利用人工接种和近红外二极管阵列分析仪分别对圆锥小麦-顶芒山羊草双二倍体和中国春-无芒山羊草双二倍体的抗病性及籽粒品质进行了鉴/测定。结果表明,二者均近免疫小麦条锈病和白粉病,且其籽粒蛋白和湿面筋含量均极显著高于对照小麦,因此,这2个种质值得向小麦进行回交转育。为了建立可用于鉴定小麦背景中2种山羊草的细胞遗传标记辅助鉴定相应回交群体,利用寡聚核苷酸原位杂交(FISH)方法对2份双二倍体进行分析。结果发现,探针(GAA)8可有效鉴定小麦背景中的顶芒山羊草染色体;探针Oligop Sc119.2-1、Oligo-p Ta-535-1和(GAA)8结合使用可有效鉴定小麦背景中的无芒山羊草染色体。本研究首次建立的2种山羊草细胞遗传学标记可用于相应杂种后代的筛选与鉴定工作,为辅助选育含有2种山羊草优异基因的小麦新种质奠定了基础。     

Separation and Characterization of A- and B-Type Starch Granules in Wheat Endosperm

Mature wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) endosperm contains two types of starch granules: large A-type and small B-type. Two methods, microsieving or centrifugal sedimentation through aqueous solutions of sucrose, maltose, or Percoll were used to separate A- and B-type starch granules. Microsieving could not completely separate the two types of starch granules, while centrifuging through maltose and sucrose solutions gave a homogenous population for B-type starch granules only. Centrifuging through two Percoll solutions (70 and 100%, v/v) produced purified populations of both the A- and B-type starch granules. Analysis of starch granule size distribution in the purified A- and B-type granule populations and in the whole-starch granule population obtained directly from wheat endosperm confirmed that the purified A- and B-type starch granule populations represented their counterparts in mature wheat endosperm. Centrifugations through two Percoll solutions were used to purify A- and B-type starch granule populations from six wheat cultivars. The amylose concentrations and gelatinization properties of these populations were analyzed. All of the A-type starch granules contained higher amylose concentrations and had higher gelatinization enthalpies than did B-type starch granules. Although A- and B-type starch granules started to gelatinize at a similar temperature, B-type starch granules had higher gelatinization peak and completion temperatures than did A-type starch granules     

Extraction and Characterization of Starch from Alkaline Cooked Corn Masa

Starch granules undergo structural and morphological changes during food processing unit operations as they interact with other food ingredients. This study was conducted to isolate and characterize starch granules from corn masa. A proteolytic enzyme, thermolysin, was effective in separating and isolating starch granules from endosperm proteins present in masa. The efficiency of starch extraction using thermolysin was 74% (w/w), and subsequent analyses showed that the isolated granules were free of contaminants. Starch samples were characterized using light microscopy, SEM, DSC, and XRD. Starch granules isolated from masa had undergone internal structural changes and some granules (≈40%) lost birefringence during nixtamalization. These internal changes occurred, in most cases, without visible alterations in general granular morphology. Nixtamalized granules underwent changes mostly consistent with a “heat-moisture treatment” process.     

Starch Acetate‐Maleate Mixed Ester Synthesis and Characterization

A new starch acetate‐maleate mixed ester with different degrees of substitution (DS) for each ester group was prepared. High‐amylose (70%) corn starch was first reacted at 123°C with ≈4.5 equivalents of acetic anhydride for different times, and then the intermediate products were further reacted at 80°C with 0.27–1.1 equivalents of maleic anhydride for a fixed time. ¹H NMR and alkaline saponification were used to determine DS values of acetyl and maleate groups. Increasing the reaction time from 60 to 120 min for starch and acetic anhydride increased DS of the acetyl group, while DS of the maleate group increased with increasing amounts of maleic anhydride. There was a good agreement between the two methods for DS determination. The reaction efficiency of acetylation increased from ≈30 to 50% with reaction time, and maleation decreased from ≈30 to 20% with increasing amounts of maleic anhydride. The mixed esters were characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FTIR, DSC, and TGA. Characteristic peaks in ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and FTIR spectra indicated the presence of acetyl and maleate groups in starch molecules. The exothermic peak in the DSC curve and the increase in thermal stability from the TGA curve were attributed to thermal cross‐linking of the double bond of the maleate group.     

Preparation and Structure Characterization of Carboxymethyl Corn Starch Under Ultrasonic Irradiation

To discover new synthesis technology and increase the degree of substitution (DS) of carboxymethyl starch (CMS), ultrasound‐modified CMS (U‐CMS) was successfully prepared under ultrasonic irradiation in the alkali condition with corn starch (CS) as the raw material, ethyl alcohol as the solvent, and monochloroacetic acid as the carboxymethylated reagent. The effects of ultrasound conditions (ultrasonic action sequence, ultrasonic radiation time, and ultrasonic power) and etherification time after ultrasonic irradiation on DS of U‐CMS were studied separately through single‐factor experiments. Meanwhile, the granule morphology, crystal type, and molecular structure of U‐CMS were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR). The results showed that DS of U‐CMS prepared under certain conditions (ultrasonic radiation time before alkalization, 40 min; ultrasonic radiation temperature, 35°C; ultrasonic power, 170 W; and etherification time, 180 min) improved 38.7% compared with that without ultrasonic radiation. The SEM, XRD, and FT‐IR results illustrated that crystal‐type change of the starch granule after ultrasonic irradiation was not obvious. However, the number of sunken points and holes on the granule surface increased, so that the specific surface expanded, which improved the carboxymethylation.     

高粱淀粉合成酶新基因SSV的鉴定与特征分析

淀粉合成酶(SS)是植物淀粉生物合成过程中的关键酶之一,目前已鉴定并揭示功能的淀粉合成酶有5个亚型。为利用丰富的基因组数据鉴定高粱基因组里的淀粉合成酶新亚型基因,本文利用生物信息学和分子生物学方法,首次鉴定并分离了编码高粱淀粉合成酶的新亚型基因Sb SSV,并对此基因的内含子-外显子结构、表达特性等进行了分析。结果显示,该基因的全长ORF为2 097 bp,其外显子数量、长度及内含子的位置分布等与玉米和水稻的直系同源基因基本一致,推导的蛋白具有细菌糖原合成酶和植物淀粉合成酶特有的糖基催化和糖基转移保守结构域。系统进化分析表明,Sb SSV与已知的SSIV亚型亲缘关系最近,推测本研究鉴定的Sb SSV基因编码高粱淀粉合成酶新亚型。定量PCR分析表达特性结果显示Sb SSV主要在高粱叶片中表达,其表达受光诱导,具有昼夜节律特性。研究结果可为深入揭示和完善植物淀粉合成代谢机制,以及改良植物产量和品质提供理论基础。     

Distribution and diversity of Aegilops tauschii in Iran

The wide morphological variation of Aegilops tauschii has led to the distinction of different subspecies; a typical ssp. tauschii and a second ssp. strangulata. However some researchers pointed out the existance of the intermediate form among morphologically distinguished subspecies. Distribution, diversity and the relationship between different subspecies and the intermediate form were evaluated in the Iranian Ae. tauschii collection. This collection was classified to 15 different populations according to morphological similarities and the collecting origin of accessions. The highest variation was found in tauschii population of Golestan followed by tauschii populations of Gilan and Ardebill, whereas the lowest variation was observed in tauschii populations of central Iran. Two discriminant functions suggested that the length of rachis node and spikelet glume, particularly, the length/width ratios of these traits had the highest impact on identification of different forms. Mahalanobis distances (D ² ) between the two subspecies along with intermediate form on the multidimensional scaling plot showed that the intermediate form is more similar to ssp. tauschii than ssp. strangulata. Although, the diversity within the ssp. strangulata was not very high, it widely affected the diversity of Iranian accessions of Ae. tauschii through continues crossing with the more diversed subspecies, tauschii, during thousands of years. This fact had lead to expansion of its distribution from its origin to Northern Khorasan, Northern Semnan and Eastern Ardebill by producing the intermediate form.     

Chromosome N-banding polymorphism in Aegilops geniculata Roth

The chromosome morphology and the variation in the N-band distribution along the chromosomes were studied in 13 accessions of the wild wheat Aegilops geniculata Roth (2n=28, genome formula UUM°M°). The karyotype consisted of four metacentric, five submetacentric, three subtelocentric, and two satellited pairs of chromosomes. The N-banding technique stained differentially all 14 chromosome pairs. The most prominent bands were observed near the centromeres and in the intercalary regions of both arms. Telomeric bands were found in only seven chromosomes. All chromosomes produced a specific banding pattern, permitting their identification. Polymorphism for presence or absence of particular bands was observed among the different accessions. The variable bands were located predominantly at the terminal and subterminal chromosome regions, and were also unevenly distributed over chromosomes. This polymorphism resulted in up to eight distinct banding pattern variants for each of the Ae. geniculata chromosomes. Each accession in this study showed a unique overall karyotype, sharing 0 to 8 chromosomes of identical banding pattern with the other accessions. A generalized idiogram of Aegilops geniculata is presented.     

Aegilops tauschii: Genetic Variation in Iran

All the 79 Aegilops tauschii Coss. accessions of Iranian origin from Prof. Kihara’s collection were analyzed electrophoretically. Of 23 enzyme-encoding loci studied, 11 were polymorphic. In Iran Ae. tauschii is presented by ssp. tauschii and ssp. strangulata which distinctly differ genetically, morphologically and ecologically. Variation patterns of low polymorphic locus Aco2 and highly polymorphic Ep are similar in both subspecies. In contrast, variation of Acph1, Ak, Est2, Est5, Got1, Got2, Got3 and Lap is a set of diverse patterns which markedly differ between subspecies and natural regions also, implying that natural selection is involved.