Effects of hydrothermal pretreatment on subsequent octenylsuccinic anhydride (OSA) modification of cornstarch

Cornstarch granules were hydrothermally pretreated and then esterified with octenylsuccinic anhydride (OSA). The physicochemical properties of cornstarch and hydrothermally pretreated OS-starch (H-OS-starch) were investigated. Results showed that hydrothermal pretreatments significantly increased the degree of substitution (DS) and reaction efficiency (RE) of H-OS-starch compared with the control. The higher the pretreatment temperature was, the more the OSA could go deep into the internal starch granules. The optimal pretreatment temperature for the OSA modification was 60 °C. In addition, the OS groups appeared to be distributed throughout the OS-starch granules, especially on the surface, as shown by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). H-OS-starch had a slightly higher peak viscosity (Pv) and break down (BD) values, but lower pasting temperature (Tp) compared with the control OS-starch.