Hydrolysis of wheat B-starch and characterisation of acetylated maltodextrin

Wheat B-starch was hydrolysed by α-amylase “Liquozyme supra” from Bacillus licheniformis at 90 °C and pH 7. After 2 h, the dextrose equivalent was 18; according to size exclusion chromatography, however, the hydrolysate contained not only dominant malto-oligosaccharides with the degree of polymerisation (DP) < 10 but also more than 20% of components with DP higher than 40. The product was acetylated to a high degree as verified by FTIR and 1H NMR (degree of substitution DS = 3.1); nevertheless, detailed analysis of the MALDI-TOF mass spectra of the product showed that most of the malto-oligosaccharides molecules contained one or two residual hydroxyls. Size exclusion chromatography confirmed that the acetylated maltodextrin still contained a significant part with DP > 40. This non-uniformity of acetylated maltodextrin, both with respect to DP and to DS, must be taken into account in the development of acetylated-maltodextrin applications such as use as plasticisers or compatibilisers in biodegradable composites.