Changes in the physicochemical properties of barley and oat starches upon the use of environmentally friendly oxidation methods.

In this work, two environmentally friendly modification methods, UV irradiation and thermal treatment, were applied for the first time for modifications of oat and barley starches. Their impacts on starch properties were compared with those observed for starch oxidation with NaClO. XRD, EPR, FTIR, SEM and SEC methods were used to characterize the effects of modifications on starch structures. The decreases in molecular weight and crystallinity degree showed the destruction of starch structures upon prolonged UV irradiation and thermal treatment, more advanced in barley starch. The process of radical formation, studied by EPR, occurring to a larger extent in this starch, confirmed lower stability of barley starch structure. The alterations of starch structures correlated well with changes in its functional properties. It was found that UV irradiation was an effective oxidizing agent, whereas heating led mainly to the depolymerization of starch chains.