Changes in molecular structure of chickpea starch during processing treatments: A thin layer chromatography study

- A TLC method for analyzing starch molecular characterization was developed.
- Resistant starch consisted of small linear molecules and large linear molecules.
- The large linear molecules might mainly originate from amylose.
- The small linear molecules might mainly originate from amylopectin.

To detect the changes in molecular structure of chickpea starch during processing treatments, a thin layer chromatographic method for characterizing the molecular structure of chickpea starch was developed. With this method, the components in chickpea starch could be divided into amylopectin, small linear molecules and large linear molecules, and their contents could be determined. It was found that the degrees of polymerization of the large linear molecules and small linear molecules in chickpea enzyme-resistant starch were about 40 and below 15, respectively. Furthermore, the small linear molecules were more susceptible to α-amylase hydrolysis than the large linear molecules. The results suggested that the large linear molecules and small linear molecules in chickpea enzyme-resistant starch might mainly originate from the amylose and amylopectin of native chickpea starch, respectively, based on the retrogradation properties of amylose and amylopectin and the enzymatic degradation behavior of the large linear molecules and small linear molecules.