Effect of high-energy mechanical milling on the physicochemical and rheological properties of chayotextle (Sechium edule Sw.) starch

[Display omitted] •Mechanical milling affects thermal properties at long milling times.•Milling increases amylose content and promotes the formation of elastic gels (Ǵ).•Modified starches show a non-Newtonian flow behavior as reofluidizers.•Tan δ shows the modification of starch-generated elastic gels. This work evaluates the effect of high-energy mechanical milling time (7 levels, 20–80 min) on amylose content, crystallinity pattern, temperature and gelatinization enthalpy, morphology, and rheological properties of chayotextle (Sechium edule Sw.) starch. After 30 min of milling, granular structure was affected, and amylose values were the highest while crystallinity and gelatinization enthalpy decreased significantly. These changes allowed to obtain gels with viscoelastic properties where the elastic character (Ǵ) prevailed upon the viscous modulus (Ǵ́). Native starch showed Tan δ values of 0.6, increased significantly (0.9) after 30 min of milling due to the surge in linear chains (amylose) and loss of granular structure. Native and modified starches showed high dependence on cutting or shear speed, presenting a non-Newtonian behavior (reofluidizers). These results indicate that mechanical grinding is an alternative to obtain modified starches with applications in the food industry.