Characterization of microstructure, physicochemical and functional properties of corn varieties using different analytical techniques

Abstract

Recently, the role of corn and its properties is a field of active research with a view to improving the quality of products being produced from corn flour. In the current study, scanning electron micrographs and textural attributes of three commercially available corn varieties (Xianyu 335, Zhengdan 958, Jade 3) were measured. The present study clearly explored a significant variation in the nutritional and chemical profile of corn verities. The change in the chemical and molecular structure of different corn flours was recorded through scanning the flour pellet using FTIR. The results illustrated that the chemical attributes showed significant variation in corn flours, but Jade 3 ranked higher followed by Xianyu 335 and zhengdan 958, respectively. The results of SEM revealed more intense bonding and round to oval shape with soft and sharp edges results in more water absorption capacity. In the current study,variations in storage modulus and loss modulus were observed corresponding to quality and process-ability of dough. Water was determined on the basis of H and OH group in the range of 1637 cm−1 and 3000–3700 cm−1 while protein was measured on the basis of amides (I &II) in the range of 1550 cm−1 and 1600 cm−1 respectively. The study concludes that analytical techniques (FTIR, NIR) are more reliable to analyze physicochemical mapping and molecular structure.

Keywords

• corn varieties
• advanced techniques
• rheological analysis
• molecular aspects
• chemical attributes