High viscosity change of corn starch suspensions prepared from granules quick treated with cold plasma

Abstract This work evaluates the effect of cold plasma treatment with exposure times of 5, 10, and 15 min, on the granule properties and the rheological changes of corn starch suspensions. The exposure to plasma led to the deposition of a thin coat with a thickness proportional to treatment time, thereby improving the hydrophobic state of starch granules before and after the paste or gel conformation. Changes in rheological properties are observed after only 5 min of cold plasma treatment. A small effect is detected at a molecular level, as shown by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), X‐ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The proposed treatment is an eco‐friendly method to obtain hydrophobic corn starch with no structural changes. The paste formation test showed a reduction of 48% of original viscosity for native starch.