Structural characteristics of β-glucans from various sources and their influences on the short- and long-term starch retrogradation in wheat flour

Beta-glucans possess the ability of retarding starch retrogradation. However, fl-glucans from different sources might show various influences on retrogradation process and the structure-function relationships of fl-glucans related to the feature still remains unclear. In the study, the fl-glucans from oat (OG), highland barley (HBG), and yeast (YG) were selected. Each fl-glucans formed aggregate as observed by atomic force microscopy. OG and HBG with a lower Mw aggregated more obviously and exhibited higher intrinsic and apparent viscosity. The two fl-glucans showed more restraining effect on the short-term starch retrogradation in the sol-like test system (RVA) and the long-term starch retrogradation in the gel-like test system (DSC). However, YG with a higher Mw exerted a greater retarding effect on the short-term starch retrogradation in gel-like test systems (Mixolab and rheology). LF-NMR indicated that OG and HBG increased the population of less-bound water by wrapping around the starch. In summary, the structural characteristics of fl-glucan (Mw and aggregation state) and experiment condition (solid content) jointly influenced starch retrogradation, because a lower Mw and higher aggregation capacity fl-glucan interacted more readily with starch and inhibited more starch re-association due to the higher diffusion rate in the sol-like system.