Effects of soy protein hydrolysates on maize starch retrogradation studied by IR spectra and ESI-MS analysis.

Starch retrogradation is the main cause of quality deterioration of starch-containing foods during storage. The purpose of this study is to find out whether certain soy protein polypeptide in hydrolysates will retard maize starch retrogradation. The results show that all soy protein hydrolysates retard maize starch retrogradation to a certain extent. The IR spectra of hydrolysates and the blends of hydrolysates and maize starch show that the polypeptides might act with reducing end of maize starch during retrogradation. The results of electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry [ESI-MS] show that the polypeptide (m/z 863) is present in all three hydrolysates remarkedly retarding maize starch retrogradation and its relative abundence is also the highest. So the polypeptide containing seven amino acids probably is the key component to significantly inhibit maize starch retrogradation.