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. 2025 Sep 5:30:102997.
doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2025.102997. eCollection 2025 Aug.

Effects of bidirectional modification by ultrasound and microwave on the structural and pasting properties of pea starch

Yuting Wang  1 , Jiatong Chai  1 , Yuanyuan Fan  2 , Songyu Li  1 , Pengzhong Han  1 , Siwen Niu  1 , Zhaojun Wei  1 , Wenjuan Chen  1 , Lihong Han  1
Affiliations

Effects of bidirectional modification by ultrasound and microwave on the structural and pasting properties of pea starch

Yuting Wang et al. Food Chem X. .

Abstract

The influence of ultrasound treatment (UT), microwave treatment (MT), and the bidirectional treatments of ultrasound and microwave (UT-MT, MT-UT) on the granule morphology, pasting properties, and molecular structural characteristics of pea starch were investigated. These results indicated that the morphology of pea starch remained unchanged after UT and produced more linear molecules. However, MT, UT-MT, and MT-UT induced damage to starch granules and reduced amylose content. All treatments preserved the C-type structure of pea starch, but caused a decrease in crystallinity, short-range order, and gelatinization enthalpy. Moreover, ultrasonic pretreatment can reduce the impairment of MT to the ordered structure of starch. Compared with other modified starches, pea starch modified by MT-UT exhibited lower setback and breakdown, indicating that it had less retrogradation tendency, better thermal stability, and stronger shear resistance. These results may help to understand the effects of ultrasound and microwave on the structural and functional characteristics of starch.

Keywords: Microwave; Molecule structure; Pasting properties; Pea starch; Ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) (× 1000) of native and modified pea starches. NS: native starch; UTS: ultrasound treated starch; MTS: microwave treated starch; UT-MTS: pea starch treated by ultrasound and then microwave; MT-UTS: pea starch treated by microwave and then ultrasound.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Molecular weight (A) and the chain length distribution of amylopectin (B—F) of native and modified pea starches. NS: native starch; UTS: ultrasound treated starch; MTS: microwave treated starch; UT-MTS: pea starch treated by ultrasound and then microwave; MT-UTS: pea starch treated by microwave and then ultrasound.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
X-ray diffraction patterns (A) and Laser confocal micro (LCM) spectra (B) of native and modified pea starches. NS: native starch; UTS: ultrasound treated starch; MTS: microwave treated starch; UT-MTS: pea starch treated by ultrasound and then microwave; MT-UTS: pea starch treated by microwave and then ultrasound.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
I-q patterns (A), log-log plots of double-logarithmic SAXS patterns (B) and one-dimensional function profiles (C) of native and modified starches. NS: native starch; UTS: ultrasound treated starch; MTS: microwave treated starch; UT-MTS: pea starch treated by ultrasound and then microwave; MT-UTS: pea starch treated by microwave and then ultrasound.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
DSC thermograms (A) and RVA curves of native and modified pea starches. NS: native starch; UTS: ultrasound treated starch; MTS: microwave treated starch; UT-MTS: pea starch treated by ultrasound and then microwave; MT-UTS: pea starch treated by microwave and then ultrasound.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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