Effect of Crystallinity on the Glass Transition Temperature of Starch

The glass transition temperature (T(g)) of potato and wheat starches, stored for several periods after gelatinization, was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the relative crystallinity of the starches was measured by X-ray diffractometry. T(g) of stored starches was higher than that of starches without storage, and the T(g) increment of starches gelatinized at 120 degrees C was higher than that of starches gelatinized at 60 degrees C. The water content at which the glass transition of a starch occurs at 25 degrees C was estimated from DSC data, and it increased linearly with relative crystallinity in two groups that differed in the gelatinization method. These results also showed the quantitative relationship between T(g) and retrogradation. In addition, these results suggested that the glass transition of starch could be interpreted in the same way as the glass transition of cross-linked synthetic polymers.