Abstract
Oat (Oa) and apple (Ap) starches were isolated and chemically modified by oxidation with 10% NaOCl to obtain oxidized starches (OOa and OAp), followed by cross-linking with a mixture of 5.6 g of sodium tripolyphosphate and 11 g of sodium trimetaphosphate to obtain doubly modified starches (OCOa and OCAp). In the native and modified starches, the functional properties (swelling power and solubility, and freeze-thaw stability) and thermal and rheological properties (steady-state flow curves and paste formation profile) were evaluated. The swelling power of native and double modified starches varied from 57 to 86 g/g and the solubility from 0.8 to 6.0 g/100 g, these variables increased as the study temperature increased; the increment in these properties was greater in Oa compared to Ap. Oxidation followed by crosslinking increased the freeze-thaw stability in Oa and Ap starches at 30, 60, 75, and 90 °C. It also increased the Tg of OCAp and OCOa ≈ 9% compared to the native samples, respectively; while an inverse pattern was observed in apparent viscosity were this value decreased ≈ 0.8 Pa × s for Oa and ≈ 0.5 Pa × s for Ap compared to the double modified samples. All samples presented a thinning cut-type behavior (pseudoplastic), indicating structural differences. Cross-linking in oxidized starches produced a reinforcing matrix that was determined in the paste formation profile. Dual modification (oxidation-cross-linking) could be an alternative for using starches from underused botanical sources, such as apples and oats, with different functional properties and feasible applications in food systems.