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Physical Changes of Mesona Blumes Gum/Starch Mixed Gel with Sugars

¹School of Perfume and Aroma Technology, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai 200235, PR China. ²National Key Lab of Food Science and Safety, Southern Yangtze University, Wuxi 214122, PR China. ³Corresponding author. Phone: 0086-510-85913525. Fax: 0086-510-85913150. E-mail: ggzb@sohu.com

Mesona Blumes gum (MBG) is extracted from Mesona Blumes, which is an annual herb distributed throughout Southeast Asia and South China that has been used for medicinal functions in folk culture. More recently, it has been the focus of research for its potential food ingredient applications, such as meat binders. To evaluate the physical properties of these MBG/starch mixed gels with sugars, the viscographic viscosity, gel strength, elastic modulus, cold water solubility, water holding capacity, electronic conductivity, and pH were determined. Glucose had little influence on the physical properties of MBG/starch mixed gels, while sucrose could affect MBG/starch mixed gels to a large degree. It was concluded that various sugars played different roles in the formation of MBG/starch mixed gel. Amylographic viscosity, gel strength, and elastic modulus analysis, indicate that glucose could enhance the swelling of starch granules at concentrations of 0–75 mmol/L but at <25 mmol/L sucrose could facilitate the swelling of starch granules and beyond that it would inhibit the swelling of starch granules. SEM micrographs suggest that the MBG/starch system with glucose had more orderly and densely fibrous structures than the MBG/starch system with sucrose.