Swelling and dissolution of starch granules in water under low and high shear mixing

作者：Andrew Terhemen Tyowua, Zhibing Zhang, M.J. Adams · 发表于：Food Hydrocolloids · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111745 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Food composition and properties、Polysaccharides Composition and Applications、Proteins in Food Systems

The aim of this study was to prevent the agglomeration of unmodified starch granules in hot water (≥ 70 °C) and improve their dispersion and dissolution. Using unmodified corn, rice, and wheat starch granules, it is shown that agglomerate formation can be overcome using an aqueous suspension of the granules at 25 °C rather than adding the powders directly to water at the dissolution temperature. This approach increased the dissolution by ∼40% (corn starch), ∼14% (wheat starch) and ∼12% (rice starch) compared to adding the powdered granules directly for the highest starch concentration of 8% w/w. Sodium chloride is commonly added to such formulations; however, it was observed that at 2% w/w NaCl, granule breakage and dissolution were impeded. This suggests that it should be added to such formulations after the dispersion and dissolution of the granules. These findings will be useful in preparing starch dispersions for various applications, including thickening, gelling, and stabilization of emulsion microstructure (e.g., for microencapsulation of active ingredients via spray-drying), in the food and pharmaceutical industries.