Effects of chitin nano-whiskers on the gelatinization and retrogradation of maize and potato starches.

Starch is very prone to retrogradation after gelatinization. Inhibition of starch retrogradation has been an important factor in improving the quality of food. For the first time, we investigated the effect of nano-materials, represented by chitin nano-whiskers (CNWs), on the short- and long-term retrogradation of maize and potato starches. Rapid Visco-Analyser results showed that the addition of CNWs significantly decreased the setback values of maize and potato starches, which suggested that CNWs could retard the short-term retrogradation of starch. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction results showed that the percentage of retrogradation of maize and potato starches significantly decreased (P<0.05), suggesting the inhibition of long-term retrogradation. The CNWs could be used as a new inhibitor of starch retrogradation to develop starch-based food with longer shelf life.