Effect of ball milling treatment on the structural, physicochemical and digestive properties of wheat starch, A- and B-type starch granules

The effect of ball milling treatment (BMT) for different time (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 60 min) on the structural, physicochemical and digestive properties of wheat starch (WS), A- (AS) and B-type (BS) starch granules were investigated. The results showed that the damaged starch content, amylose content and the solubility of WS, AS and BS increased after BMT. Scanning electron microscopy exhibited that the more fragmented granules appeared in starch samples with increasing ball milling time, while partial granule reaggregation occurred in WS and BS after BMT for more than 20 min. The starch samples treated by ball milling showed less ordered structure and lower gelatinization enthalpy. Moreover, BMT resulted in an increase in rapidly digestible starch content in the starch samples, and it was negatively correlated with the ordered structure of starch. Overall, these results provide scientific basis for the application of BMT in wheat starch modification.