Interactions of soy protein isolate with common and waxy corn starches and their effects on acid-induced cold gelation properties of complexes

Soy protein isolate (SPI) was mixed with different concentrations of common starch (CS) and waxy starch (WS) from corn. The interactions of SPI with CS or WS and their effects on the acid-induced cold gelation properties of complexes were investigated. Compared with WS, SPI could bind to CS more strongly and formed a tighter SPI–CS non-covalent complex, which resulted in the increased β-sheet and a more ordered secondary structure. The gel strength, water holding capacity (WHC), viscoelasticity, hydrophobic interactions and thermal stability of SPI–CS complex gels were enhanced as increasing CS concentration, and the complex with 2% of CS had the best gelation properties. Although adding WS reduced the gel strength, rheological properties and hydrophobic interactions of SPI–WS complex gels, it improved the WHC and thermal stability of the complex gels. Therefore, CS had a broader effect on improving acid-induced cold gelation properties of SPI than WS.