Abstract
The influences of sugar alcohols on hardening and water mobility of wheat starch gels stored at 2°C were investigated by kinetic treatment on rheological parameters (creep compliance) and by 17O-NMR technique. In general, the hardening process of sugar alcohols-supplemented gels could be separated into the four regions similar to that of saccharides-supplemented gels in the previous report. The initial creep compliance (J0I) of all the sugar alcohols-supplemented gels became smaller than that of control gels, indicating that the gels became harder. Sugar alcohols-supplemented gels also appeared to be harder than the saccharides-supplemented gels in the most cases. Commercial hydrogenated malto-oligosaccharides and hydrogenated isomalto-oligosaccharides reduced the hardening rate constant, but meso-erythritol, D-xylitol, D-arabitol, D-ribitol and D-sorbitol increased the constant compared with the control gels. Apparent transverse relaxation time T2 was reduced by addition of meso-erythritol, maltitol, D-sorbitol and D-arabitol compared with the control gels, and the values gradually decreased during the storage period. But no remarkable differences were observed among the effects of sugar alcohols on T2 during storage, gel hardening rate and water mobility in the gel could not be related clearly.
