Sonochemical Effects on Wheat Starch

The food industry uses sonochemical treatment as part of emulsification, homogenization, and dispersion, as well as to modify viscosity and structure. Starch is one of the most common food ingredients, both as a raw material or a property-modifying additive. The research objective was to study the effect of sonochemical action on the structural and mechanical properties of wheat starch suspensions. The study involved suspension samples with 10% wheat starch. The suspension samples were treated with ultrasound using an ultrasonic device Volna-M model UZTA-1/22-OM or in an ultrasonic bath (22 kHz; 100, 150, 300, and 400 W). The treatment time was 15 and 30 min. The rheological, physical, and textural properties were recorded according to conventional methods before and after the treatment. The ultrasonic treatment caused mechanical damage to the starch, making it more accessible to moisture when heated. As a result, the structural, mechanical, and rheological properties of starch suspensions changed. All the studied suspensions had a non-Newtonian character. The ultrasonic treatment increased their consistency coefficient from 28.12 to 152.75 µPa·s. The gelatinization temperature of all experimental starch suspensions dropped from 63.4 to 61.0°C. The short high-power ultrasound treatment reduced the strength of gels to 1.25 N compared to that of native starch gel (4.28 N). In this research, the ultrasound treatment of wheat starch suspensions modified the structural, mechanical, and rheological profile of starch and proved able to replace some conventional starch modification procedures, i.e., chemical, physical, or enzymatic. The new approach can provide modified starches of a preset quality while reducing energy costs and processing time.