Inhibition of gelatinized rice starch retrogradation by rice bran protein hydrolysates

•Protamex-hydrolyzed rice bran protein at 1h (PRBPH-1) was released.•PRBPH-1 reduced significantly the short- and long-term retrogradation of gelatinized rice starch.•The relative crystallinity of retrograded RS declined with the addition of PRBPH-1 in DSC and XRD.•Formation of intra- and inter-particle hydrogen bonds and recrystallization were weakened by PRBPH-1. The retrogradation of gelatinized rice starch (GRS) during the shelf life of a product is the biggest barrier related to starch-containing foods. The objective of this study was to produce rice bran protein hydrolysate (RBPH) using proteolytic enzymes (alcalase, flavourzyme, protamex, neutrase, bromelain, papain and trypsin) to suppress the retrogradation of GRS and understand the physical phenomena underlying the reduced retrogradation of GRS by RBPH during short- and long-term storage. Mixtures of GRS incorporated with Protamex-hydrolyzed rice bran protein at 1h (PRBPH-1) at a degree of hydrolysis of 15.1% were still fresh after storage at 4°C for 14 d. The dynamic time sweep results obtained at 4°C for 180min showed that PRBPH-1 reduced the storage modulus to a greater extent, indicating that PRBPH-1 suppressed the short-term retrogradation of GRS. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) clearly showed that PRBPH-1 significantly decreased the retrogradation enthalpy during the 28-d storage at 4°C, and the retrogradation kinetics were analyzed by the Avrami model. In addition, the recrystallization of GRS based on X-ray diffraction spectroscopy was reduced from 15.41% to 4.86% when the GRS: PRBPH-1mass ratio increased from 100:0 to 100:12. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that PRBPH-1 dispersed between GRS molecules to block the formation of hydrogen bonds to inhibit the recrystallization of GRS. These findings suggested that PRBPH-1 inhibited the short- and long-term retrogradation of GRS, and can be potently employed as a natural alternatives for improving the quality and nutrition of starch-containing foods.