Pasting investigation, SEM observation and the possible interaction study on rice starch-pullulan combination

The pasting properties of rice starch (RS) with high concentration (10%, w/w) were investigated in the presence or absence of pullulan (PUL) using a rapid visco-analyzer (RVA). Addition of pullulan resulted in the reduction of peak viscosity, trough viscosity, final viscosity, and setback value of RS. Furthermore, an interesting phenomenon, i.e. a small viscosity peak appeared in the RVA curves of RS-PUL mixtures, was observed. It indicated that addition of pullulan might suppress the gelatinization of starch granules by maintaining the integration of some granules. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation of samples suggested that starch granules could be wrapped by a thin membrane composed of pullulan and/or pullulan-amylose associations. The coating ability of pullulan and/or the possible molecular interactions between pullulan and amylose could be responsible for these results.