Physicochemical properties and digestibility of hydrothermally treated waxy rice starch

•Waxy rice starch was subjected to single and dual hydrothermal treatment.•Changes on the physicochemical properties amongst treated starches were compared.•Structural changes in modified starch affected its digestibility. Waxy rice starch was subjected to annealing (ANN) and heat-moisture treatment (HMT). These starches were also treated by a combination of ANN and HMT. The impact of single and dual modifications (ANN–HMT and HMT–ANN) on the molecular weight (Mw), crystalline structure, thermal properties, and the digestibility were investigated. The relative crystallinity and short-range order on the granule surface increased on ANN, whereas decreased on HMT. All treated starches showed lower Mw than that of the native starch. Gelatinization onset temperature, peak temperature and conclusion temperature increased for both single and dual treatments. Increased slowly digestible starch content was found on HMT and ANN–HMT. However, resistant starch levels decreased in all treated starches as compared with native starch. The results would imply that hydrothermal treatment induced structural changes in waxy rice starch significantly affected its digestibility.