546 DOI 10.1002/star.

200300187 Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557

Waheeb K. Heneen, Structure of Cooked Spaghetti of Durum and

Kerstin Brismar
Bread Wheats
Department of Crop The structure of cooked spaghetti of durum and bread wheats was studied using low
Science, Swedish University voltage scanning electron microscopy, and light microscopy applying different stain-
of Agricultural Sciences, ing methods. Central, intermediate and external regions, and four zones along the ex-
Alnarp, Sweden ternal region of cooked spaghetti strands, were characterized in unprecedented de-
tail. Changes in structure of starch granules from core to surface portrayed the suc-
cessive stages in starch gelatinization, and possible starch retrogradation in the ex-
ternal region. Pronounced changes in shape of starch granules commenced in the in-
termediate region, while apparent internal changes dominated in the external region.
Spaghetti of bread wheats differed from that of durum wheats by the larger size and
higher extent of fusions and retrogradation of starch, and less amounts and continu-
ity of intervening proteins. The significance of a high protein concentration for pasta
production from bread wheats was emphasized. Furthermore, the relevance of a small
size of the large starch granules was inferred.

Keywords: Cooked spaghetti; Durum wheat; Structure; Bread wheat; Protein

1 Introduction materials, following different processing schemes, and

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp durum Desf.) has
traditionally been considered the only wheat type suit-
able for pasta production. On the other hand, it is known
that not all pasta is made of 100% durum wheat, and that
bread wheat with high protein content and elastic gluten
could be used for pasta production [1]. Pasta processing
has been adapted to permit the use of flour of bread
wheat, mainly as a mixture with durum flour. The poten-
tial of using 100% bread wheats for pasta production has
Research Paper
after pasta cooking [2, 7-10]. The significance of the
physical competition between the process of starch
swelling and gelatinisation and the process of protein co-
agulation and firm network formation during cooking has
been stressed [2]. Differences in structure of external, in-
termediate and central regions of cooked pasta have
been indicated [3, 4, 11-13].
In the present comparative study, structural features
have been documented in spaghetti made from durum

not yet been fully explored. Knowledge is limited as to
the development of cultivars suitable for such a purpose.
For comparison, bread wheats have been previously in-
cluded in some studies on durum wheats that relate to
pasta production. These studies concern pasta structure
and texture [2, 3], as well as starch digestion [4], gela-
tinization [5] and degradation [6]. Defining of the charac-
teristics of kernels, flour, and dry and cooked pasta,
which are distinctive for a good quality end product,
could be subsidiary for screening and choice of bread
wheats suitable for pasta production. In studies on pasta
quality, emphasis has been put on physical, chemical
and structural characterisation of starch and proteins
which are the principal components of kernels, flour and
pasta. The structural analyses were made on various raw
Correspondence: Waheeb K. Heneen, Department of Crop Sci-
ence, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 44,
SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden. Phone: +46-40-415520, Fax: +46-
40-415519, e-mail: Waheeb.Heneen@vv.slu.se.
and bread wheats. Emphasis was put on the microstruc-
ture of starch granules and starch-protein interrelation-
ships using both scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
and light microscopy (LM), in an effort to define structur-
al parameters that could be inferred to be of relevance to
pasta quality.
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Materials
The studied spaghetti samples originated from durum
and bread wheats. The durum wheats comprised Aus-
trian, Canadian, Russian and Spanish types that were
mainly variety mixtures. Material from both 1997 and
1998 harvests was studied, except for the Spanish mate-
rial which was only from 1998. The bread wheats were of
the hard type and included the cultivars Kosack, Toronto
and Urban from the harvest of 1997, and Canary, Tarso
and Toronto from the harvest of 1998. The bread wheat
cultivars were chosen taking into consideration their
gluten strength, yellow color in the case of Tarso, and

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Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557 Structure of Cooked Spaghetti of Durum and Bread Wheats 547

availability in amounts that permit pasta production in an

starch [µm]b
industrial scale. All wheats were obtained commercially

Average
size of

19.0

18.6

19.1

25.8

20.4

21.7
and were milled in a similar way by AB Nord Mills,
Malmö, Sweden. The produced flour was made into
spaghetti by Kungsörnen AB, Järna, Sweden. Standard

Frequency of starch granules

procedures of spaghetti production comprised mixing

32.3-39.1
and kneading with water (30-35%) for 10-20 min, extru-

in size ranges [µm]b

5.5

5.0

5.5

11.3

6.3

7.4
sion under a pressure of 115-120 bar, and drying for
~1.5 h at increasing temperatures until reaching 84 °C,
followed by ~4.5 h at 82 °C and ~15 min at 32 °C. Some
specifications of the studied materials regarding protein

26.7-32.3
content as well as size of flour particles and starch gran-

10.3

9.2

10.2

13.8

11.1

12.4
ules are presented in Tab. 1.

2.2 Spaghetti cooking

Dry spaghetti in amounts of 100 g were cooked in 1 L

20.3
15.8
18.1
16.3
25.0
17.6
15.9

33.7
35.2
32.0
45.9
40.3
41.0
<75
boiling water to which 4 g salt had been added. The sen-
sorially determined al-dente cooking time was ~9 min for

Data supplied by Svalöf Weibull AB; averages of two measurements.

Frequency of flour particles in size ranges [µm]a
bread wheats and ~10 min for durum wheats, except for
the 1998 Canadian durum which was cooked for ~9 min. Tab. 1. Protein content, size of flour particles and size of starch granules of the wheat materials studied.

132-75
The water was decanted and the spaghetti was cooled to

24.2
21.6
24.0
24.1
25.2
24.5
21.3

37.9
34.3
38.2
28.5
33.7
31.9
ambient temperature before fixation for LM, and kept at
4 °C for up to two days before SEM.

2.3 Low voltage SEM

250-132

47.8
46.7
50.2
48.4
46.3
46.8
50.1

27.4
28.6
29.1
24.5
25.0
25.2
Cooked spaghetti, without fixation and metal coating,
was studied under high vacuum at a low accelerating
voltage of 5 kV in a LEO 435VP (LEO, Cambridge, UK)
scanning electron microscope. At least two small pieces,
350-250

exposing interior surfaces of transversally torn strands,

7.7
15.2
7.7
11.0
3.3
10.8
12.3

1.0
1.9
0.7
1.1
0.9
1.9
were viewed from each spaghetti type. Only one or two
specimens at a time were entered into the microscope, in
order to minimize the consecutive drying under high vac-
uum and electron beam exposure.
>350

0.7

0.2
0.2
0.3
0.4

0.1
2.4 Light microscopy
Small pieces of cooked spaghetti were fixed in 5 % glu-
taraldehyde and 4% formaldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate b
Data supplied by AB Nord Mills; dw = dry weight.
[% dw]a
content
Protein

buffer at pH 7.2 for 1 h. After washing in cacodylate

16.6
17.5
15.0
14.9
16.1
17.6
14.1

11.4
13.5
11.6
13.9
13.5
13.4

buffer, the material was dehydrated in acidified 2,2-

dimethoxypropane and embedded in Spurr epoxy resin
[14]. The fixation and embedding procedure was speed-
ed up as much as possible in order to minimize potential
1997
1998
1997
1998
1997
1998
1998

1998
1997
1998
1997
1998
1997

adverse effects of the chemicals on the spaghetti pieces.

Sections, 2 µm thick, were made from the embedded
material using a pyramitome (LKB, Bromma, Sweden).
The following staining methods were employed:
Durum wheats

Bread wheats

Fast green and iodine (FG-I): For staining proteins and

starch, the sections were first stained with FG (0.5% in
Canadian
Austrian

Spanish
Russian

Toronto
Kosack

95% ethanol) for 1 h then with iodine by applying Lugol’s

Canary

Urban
Tarso

solution (Fluka, Buchs, Switzerland) diluted 1:2 for 50 s.

The proteins stained green, while a blue or brown/violet
a

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548 Heneen et al. Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557

color inferred amylose- or amylopectin-rich starch,
respectively. The background epoxy resin was un-
stained.
Methylene blue – azur A – safranin O (M-A-S): Staining
according to this method [15] was prolonged to 55 min in
the methylene blue and azur A solution and 4 min in the
safranin O solution. In some preparations, this was fol-
lowed by another cycle of 55+4 or 15+3 min. This combi-
nation of metachromatic dyes stained proteins red.
Starch in different states at different sites either remained
colorless or stained red. ‘Empty space’ or background
epoxy resin was frequently stained blue or violet, due to
the extended staining time.
Toluidine blue O (TB): This metachromatic dye was used
in a concentration of 1% in 1% sodium tetraborate, and
the sections were stained for 20-60 s at 60 °C. Proteins
stained dark blue and starch in different states was un-
stained or stained dark blue, while background space or
epoxy resin was stained blue.
The stained slides were washed in water, air-dried and
mounted in Permount®. Slight overstaining by the M-A-S
and TB methods was preferable since this led to staining
of voids and background epoxy resins, which con-
tributed to a better contrast and discrimination of territo-
ries.
3 Results and Discussion
The microscopic observations on cooked spaghetti of
durum and bread wheats portrayed the specifications of
these wheats as to protein content and size of starch

Fig. 1. Low voltage SEM showing surface and internal structure of unfixed and uncoated cooked spaghetti of durum
wheat. (a) Proteinaceous starchy surface. (b) Internal structure showing an increasing extent of starch gelatinization from
centre (left) to surface (right). The sites indicated by asterisks, from left to right, are shown at higher magnifications in c-e.
(c) Slightly swollen starch granules and intervening proteins in the central region. (d) Radially expanded and flattened
granules, intervened by proteins, in the intermediate region. (e) Degraded starch and proteins in the external region.

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Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557 Structure of Cooked Spaghetti of Durum and Bread Wheats
granules. A higher content of proteins, larger flour par-
ticles, and smaller large starch granules characterized
durum wheats in comparison with bread wheats (Tab. 1).
Among the bread wheats, Kosack had relatively bigger
large starch granules than the other cultivars. Except for
this difference for Kosack, the observations presented
below refer to spaghetti of all durum types as a group
and spaghetti of all bread wheat types as a group.
3.1 Low voltage SEM
Low voltage SEM of cooked spaghetti is exemplified by
Fig. 1, showing surface and internal structure of durum
spaghetti. The covering material on the outer surface of
the spaghetti strand was amorphous in nature and gen-
erally continuous (Fig. 1a). When discontinuous, no con-
tours of underlying small or large starch granules were
visible.
Surfaces of transversely torn spaghetti strands exposed
largely intact starch granules and the intervening pro-
teins. In the core region, starch granules exhibited an al-
most native appearance, except for a possible slight in-
crease in size (Fig. 1c). Changes and deformations in
their appearance due to gelatinization increased from
center to periphery of the spaghetti strand. These
changes were expressed as radial expansion, flattening,
curling and puckering of the large granules (Fig. 1d, e).
This is in accordance with the earlier defined morpholog-
ical modifications that occur during starch gelatinization
[16]. Interrelationships between buckling of granules in
characteristic ´saddle´ shapes and the distribution of
amyloses and lipids in the starch granule have been in-
ferred [17]. In the external region, starch granules were
largely deformed or seemed almost to have lost their in-
tegrity and become fragmented, but were still recogniz-
able as starch materials (Fig. 1e). The present methodol-
ogy was thus advantageous, permitting the preservation
and detection of starch in the external region, which was
not the case in previous studies, after chemical fixation
and critical point drying or freezing and freeze drying [3,
4, 8, 11-13]. After applying these methods, the external
region appeared as a honeycomb-like network with emp-
ty holes. The network was inferred to be covered by a
starch [11] or protein-starch [12] film. As evidenced from
the stained sectioned material (see below), the surface is
constituted of proteinaceous and gelatinized starchy ma-
terials.
The differences between spaghetti of durum and bread
wheats were mainly in the smaller size of the large starch
granules in spaghetti of durum. The differences in
amounts of proteins were not that distinct. A slightly
wrinkled appearance of the proteins, and the absence of
voids around the large starch granules in the intermediate
© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
549
region (Fig. 1d), although they were present in the fixed
material (see below), were likely a consequence of dehy-
dration. Thus, consideration should be taken to the fact
that, in a certain extent, drying and collapse of the fresh
hydrated object takes place during this mode of SEM
analysis.
3.2 LM
Light microscopy of sectioned cooked spaghetti and the
use of different staining methods endorsed the SEM ob-
servations and provided additional and detailed informa-
tion on the structural changes induced by cooking (Figs.
2-5). The three adopted staining methods were comple-
mentary to each other for understanding the nature of
these changes. FG-I staining was the dye combination
that clearly differentiated between the two main compo-
nents of spaghetti, starch and proteins (Fig. 2a, d, 3a-f,
4). The other two staining methods, employing the un-
specific metachromatic dyes M-A-S (Fig. 2b, e, 3g-l) and
TB (Fig. 2c,f, 3m-r,5), provided confirmative and com-
plementary information (described in detail below), thus
ratifying their validity.
Fig. 2 shows representative general views of durum and
bread wheat spaghetti, from the core region to the sur-
face, after applying the three staining methods. The gra-
dient of structural changes across the spaghetti strand
mainly concerned the appearance of starch granules and
could be interpreted as successive stages in the gela-
tinization process. Since maximum effects of cooking
occurred at the surface, it was considered logical to de-
scribe these changes starting from the core and out-
wards. Three concentric regions were recognizable. In
the central region, starch granules did not differ much
from their normal appearance in dry spaghetti, flour or
kernels. Most characteristic in the intermediate region
was the appearance of voids around the starch granules.
The voids were unstained by FG-I but stained by M-A-S
and TB. In the external region, starch granules with less
surrounding voids exhibited maximum structural
changes (Fig. 2). The intervening proteins appeared as
continuous or discontinuous networks, which in the pre-
sent context relates to amounts of proteins present, irre-
spective of the extent of protein aggregation and coagu-
lation occurring during spaghetti production, sample
preparation for microscopy, and cooking. The three re-
gions were easily differentiable and occupied relatively
similar portions in sections stained according to the three
methods.
When applying FG-I, starch was stained by iodine in all
three regions, but to a much less extent in the external re-
gion (Fig. 2a, d). The intense blue/brownish coloration of
the starch in the central and intermediate regions inferred
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550 Heneen et al. Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557

Fig. 2. Sectors from fixed and embedded cooked spaghetti of Russian durum (a-c) and bread wheat Toronto (d-f) , from
core (left) to surface (right), stained by FG-I (a, d), M-A-S (b, e) and TB (c, f), showing central, intermediate and external re-
gions. The starch granules were least modified in the central region, surrounded by voids in the intermediate region, and
largely gelatinized in the external region. More matrix proteins, smaller voids, less void and starch granule fusions, and
less possible starch retrogradation in Russian durum (a-c) than in Toronto (d-f). LM.

that amyloses were largely retained in the starch gran-
ules. The overwhelming lighter brownish coloration of the
outer region might be inferred to the swollen state and
less amylose content of the starch granules. When stain-
ing with M-A-S or TB, starch was unstained in the central
and intermediate regions, but was partially stainable in
the external region (Fig. 2b, c, e, f), as will be described in
more detail below. Accordingly, the external region was
the least stained by FG-I and the most heavily stained re-
gion when using M-A-S and TB.
There were some noticeable differences between
spaghetti of durum and bread wheats, (Fig. 2-5). The first
one was in the amount of matrix proteins, best differenti-
ated after FG-I staining. A more distinct matrix, due to the
presence of more proteins, prevailed in the durum (Fig.
2a, 3a-f, 4a-f) compared to the bread wheat (Fig. 2d,
4g-l) material. The second difference was the generally
smaller size of the large starch granules, the smaller size
of the voids surrounding these granules, and less fusions
between these voids in durum spaghetti (Fig. 2a-c, 3,

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Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557 Structure of Cooked Spaghetti of Durum and Bread Wheats 551

4a-f compared to Fig. 2d-f, 4g-l, 5).The larger size of pearance of the starch in the external region. After stain-
starch granules in bread wheats was most pronounced in ing with FG-I, less areas of the starch granules were
Kosack (Tab. 1, Fig. 5). The third difference was in the ap- stainable in spaghetti made of durum (Fig. 2a) than in that

Fig. 3. Three series of six high magnifications showing the gradual structural changes from core to surface in spaghetti
made of Canadian durum. The first picture in each series is from the central region, the second from the intermediate re-

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552 Heneen et al. Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557

made of bread wheats (Fig. 2d). The opposite was true, granule were unstainable in spaghetti made of durum
and more distinct, after applying M-A-S and TB. After us- (Fig. 2b,c) than in that made of bread wheats (Fig. 2e,f),
ing these two staining methods, less areas of the starch which will be explained later in the text.

gion, and the following four from successive zones along the external region. LM. (a-f) FG-I. (g-l) M-A-S. (m-r) TB. The as-
terisk in j is on a large starch granule showing a typical staining pattern in this zone.

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Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557 Structure of Cooked Spaghetti of Durum and Bread Wheats 553

Fig. 4. Four series of high magnifications of the outermost three zones of the external region, from the FG-I stained
cooked spaghetti made of Austrian durum (a-c), Russian durum (d-f), and bread wheats Toronto (g-i), and Canary (j-l).
More proteins and less fusions between neighboring starch granules or voids are observed in durum (a-f) than in bread (g-
l) wheats. Note the difference in colour of the internal blue-stained and peripheral brown-stained fractions of the large
starch granules in b, e, h and k.

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554 Heneen et al.
Fig. 5. Gradual structural changes from core to surface in spaghetti made of the bread wheat cultivar Kosack, with the
biggest large starch granules in the materials studied. TB. (a) Central region. (b) Intermediate region. (c-f) Four successive
zones of the external region.
Taking Canadian durum spaghetti as an example, Fig. 3
shows three differently stained series of six representa-
tive high magnifications from core to periphery. The first
picture in each series shows the central region (Fig. 3a, g,
m). Staining with FG-I nicely differentiated between the
blue starch granules and the background green network
of proteins (Fig. 3a). The density of the blue stain was
generally less pronounced in the small starch granules.
This might be a consequence of the higher concentration
of amyloses in the large granules. A limited unstained
void surrounding the large granules was probably a con-
sequence of water absorption and accompanying slight
starch swelling. Staining with M-A-S (Fig. 3g) and TB
(Fig. 3m) provided similar information, but the starch
granules were colorless. The narrow voids were stained
blue or violet by M-A-S and blue by TB. The protein ma-
trix background was stained red by M-A-S and dark blue
© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557
by TB. In all three staining modes (Fig. 3a, g, m) the pro-
tein matrix was well defined and generally continuous
between the starch granules.
The second picture in each series is from the intermedi-
ate region (Fig. 3b, h, n), and displays similar staining
patterns as documented in the central region. Character-
istic for the intermediate region was the maximum ‘emp-
ty’ space that surrounded the stained (Fig. 3b) or un-
stained (Fig. 3h, n) large starch granules and the in-
creased radial expansion and apparent flattening of
these granules. Small voids also appeared around the
small starch granules. Touching voids or starch of neigh-
boring small and large granules appeared to fuse with
each other at common borderlines, which lead to less in-
terconnections between proteins. This was specially no-
ticeable between parallelly oriented neighboring large
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Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557 Structure of Cooked Spaghetti of Durum and Bread Wheats
starch granules. When staining with M-A-S and TB (Fig.
3h, n), fusions between stained neighboring voidal
spaces affirmed the fusions noticed between unstained
voids after applying FG-I (Fig. 3b).
The next four pictures in each series are from the external
region and show transition features from the intermediate
region to the surface (Fig. 3c-f, i-l, o-r). Changes in the
staining patterns of starch were manifested in these suc-
cessive zones. In the first zone (Fig. 3c, i, o), the starch
granules were more radially expanded and irregular, but
the voids around them became reduced. After staining
with FG-I (Fig. 3c), the periphery of the large granules re-
tained the dense blue color, while the central area be-
came much fainter in color. When staining with M-A-S
and TB (Fig. 3i, o), the large starch granules contrarily be-
came stained at the center, red by M-A-S and blue by TB,
and continued to be almost unstained at the periphery.
The three modes of staining were confirmatory to each
other and implied that a difference between central and
peripheral parts of the large starch granules had been in-
duced. This was valid for both small and large starch
granules.
In the second zone (Fig. 3d, j, p, see also Fig. 4a, d, g, j,
5d), fusions between swollen small starch granules and
between these and irregular large granules or their voids,
and the consequent discontinuities in the protein net-
work, were conspicuous. After staining with FG-I, some
peripheral parts of the large starch granules had still a
denser color (Fig. 3d, 4a, d). Contrary, but confirmatory,
staining features characterized the large starch granules
after staining with M-A-S and TB (Fig. 3j, p, 5d). The ma-
jor central parts were the most densely stained areas,
while the peripheral parts were largely unstained. Conse-
quently, this zone had a predominant red or dark blue
color after M-A-S and TB staining, respectively, since
both the protein matrix and a great part of the starch
granules were close to each other in color.
At the third zone and after staining with FG-I (Fig. 3e, 4b,
e, h, k), brownish darkly stained material started to ap-
pear at peripheral sites of the large starch granules, while
the bulk of the granules acquired a violet coloration. The
starch granules still had some void around them. After
staining with M-A-S and TB (Fig. 3k, q, 5e), the central ar-
eas of the large starch granules were stained. Stainable
starch material started to appear at peripheral sites of the
starch granules, similar to the situation after FG-I stain-
ing. Minor and major products of fusion between neigh-
boring starch granules also prevailed in this zone.
The fourth and last zone was the peripheral area of the
spaghetti strand (Fig. 3f, l, r, 4c, f, i, l, 5f). FG-I staining
continued to offer the optimal differentiation between
© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
555
starch and proteins (Fig. 3f, 4c, f, i, l). The starch ap-
peared in a deformed and partly fragmented condition,
but still it occupied distinct areas resulting from fusions
between adjacent granules or voids, and was separated
by a discontinuous protein matrix. Central irregular com-
ponents of large starch granules were violet, while
brownish segments occurred at peripheral positions. The
voids in the starch domains were still differentiable. The
proteins were more discontinuous and were interrupted
by a starchy fusion network. After staining with M-A-S
and TB, the unstained major parts of the large starch
granules were segmented, while stained peripheral parts
of starch and matrix proteins were differentiable when
separated by voids and difficult to differentiate when ad-
jacent to each other (Fig. 3l, r, 5f).
Thus, only the central area of the large starch granules
was stainable by M-A-S and TB in the first two zones,
while in the third and fourth (peripheral) zones, the ten-
dency was reversed in that the major central area be-
came unstainable. This was valid for both durum and
bread wheats.
To our knowledge, no such detailed light microscopic
descriptions of changes across spaghetti strands have
been reported before, except for some general views
[12]. Aside from unavoidable shortcomings due to chem-
ical fixation and dehydration, the observed progressive
changes in starch structure from the core outwards ap-
parently reflect gradual steps of modifications introduced
by cooking. A summary of these events for spaghetti
made of durum and bread wheats is presented in the
schematic drawings of Fig. 6, based on the staining pat-
terns specific for starch and proteins disclosed after us-
ing FG-I (Fig. 3a-f, 4). Emphasis has been put on differ-
ences between durum and bread wheats in size of large
starch granules, amounts of intervening proteins, and ex-
tent of starch retrogradation. The more distinct differen-
tial staining of different domains within the starch granule
by M-A-S and TB (Fig. 3g-r, Fig. 5) contributed to the un-
derstanding of the process of gelatinization and possible
retrogradation.
A higher frequency of large flour particles in durum
wheats than in bread wheats (Tab. 1) infers the signifi-
cance of this feature when screening for suitable bread
wheats for pasta production. The relevance of protein
concentration [18, 19], protein composition [20, 21] and
starch-protein structural interrelationships [2, 3, 8-12], as
to the quality of the end product, has been repeatedly
stressed. It is likely that the core region of cooked
spaghetti, with the least changes, just represents a hy-
drated dough. The area occupied by starch granules as
well as existing minor and increasing voids at their mar-
gins possibly reflect the original spatial relationships be-
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556 Heneen et al.
tween the granule, the amyloplast and the surrounding
proteins. However, other analytical approaches such as
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are required to
further ascertain the state of the starch in this region.
The most conspicuous structural change is the appear-
ance of large voids around the starch granules, and the
radial expansion and flattening of the large starch gran-
ules in the intermediate region. Of interest is the uniform
increase in the area originally occupied by the amyloplast
following water absorption and expansion. Of relevance
in this connection are the studies on the interface be-
tween large starch granules and proteins, the presence at
this site of original amyloplast membranes and water sol-
uble material, and the capacity of this site to swell rapid-
ly on hydration [22].
The changes in the external region (Fig. 6) thus combine
the manifestation of internal changes in starch structure
and the deformation, loss of integrity, segmentation and
further fusion of starch granules. However, during the
whole process, the domains of starch and proteins were
preserved. The protein network became less continuous,
while starch-starch, starch-void and void-void continu-
ities became more prominent at the surface area. The
present model of cooked pasta, with proteins interspac-
ing most of the starch granules (Fig. 6) thus deviates from
that of Resmini and Pagani [2], in which large aggregates
of starch granules are intervened by proteins.
The differential stainability of starch across the large
granules throughout the external region deserves a more
thorough look. The less stainability (FG-I) and de-novo
stainability (M-A-S and TB) of the central part of the
starch granule closest to the intermediate region, and of
the major part of the granule in the following zone, likely
© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557
Fig. 6. Schematic drawings illus-
trating the structural changes
observed from core to surface of
cooked spaghetti of durum
wheats (upper row) and bread
wheats (bottom row), after stain-
ing with FG-I. The first drawing in
each series represents the cen-
tral region, the second the inter-
mediate region, and the following
four the successive zones along
the external region. Dotted inter-
space between starch granules
represents proteins.
reflect the initial and maximal areas of altered starch in
these two zones. The ‘restored’ stainability (FG-I) and un-
stainability (M-A-S and TB) of the starch granule in the
two outermost zones might be a result of starch retrogra-
dation (recrystallization), that was maximal closest to the
surface. Starch retrogradation, initiated during pasta
cooling, evidently starts at the surface and progresses in-
wards. The present observations indicate that this phe-
nomenon was more pronounced in bread wheats.
Apparently, central and peripheral parts of gelatinized
starch granules portray different structures, as a result of
phase separation between amylose and amylopectin,
and thus stain differently during gelatinization and ret-
rogradation [9, 23]. Microscopic and image analysis of
differently manufactured pasta, under- and overcooked
pasta, and of pasta after different cooling times and
keeping at different temperatures would be of interest to
accomplish. Furthermore, screening of starch from differ-
ent regions of the spaghetti strand, employing DSC, X-
ray diffraction and/or rheological behavior would also
make it possible to quantify starch gelatinization and pre-
sumed retrogradation. DSC measurements and starch
retrogradation studies have been attempted on bulked
samples of cooked spaghetti [24]. Comparing pasta
quality of different bread wheat cultivars to that of durum
wheats also needs to be accomplished.
4 Conclusions
Scanning electron microscopy of fresh material of
cooked spaghetti and light microscopy of stained sec-
tions, increased our knowledge regarding the induced
structural changes due to cooking. The structural fea-
tures across the spaghetti strand provided novel infor-
www.starch-journal.de
Starch/Stärke 55 (2003) 546–557 Structure of Cooked Spaghetti of Durum and Bread Wheats
mation on the changes accompanying starch gelatiniza-
tion. This is expressed in the swelling of starch granules
and appearance of voids around them, changes in the in-
ternal structure of starch granules, fusions between
neighboring granules with consequent discontinuities in
the protein matrix, and final starch deformation, segmen-
tation and possible retrogradation close to the surface. In
addition to the standard parameters comprising protein
content and composition, and flour particle size, the size
of the large starch granules might be of relevance to pas-
ta quality. The bigger size of large starch granules in
bread wheats apparently favors a higher extent of gran-
ule fusions and consequent discontinuities in intervening
proteins which would lead to inferior pasta quality. Bread
wheats with optimal standard parameters and with least
size of the large starch granules might prove to be suit-
able for pasta production.
Acknowledgements
This work has been initiated and supported by Cerealia
R&D, Järna. Thanks to Monica Carlsson, AB Nord Mills,
for supply of wheat flour data, Henrik Johansson, Svalöf
Weibull AB, for supply of starch granule size data, and
Elisabet Larsson and Katarina Dahlin, Kungsörnen, Jär-
na, for supply of dry spaghetti samples. Comments on
the manuscript by Professor Ann-Charlotte Eliasson,
University of Lund, and discussions with the pasta group
lead by Ingmar Börjesson, Cerealia R&D, are greatly ap-
preciated.
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(Received: November 25, 2002)
(Revised: May 2, 2003)
(Accepted: July 7, 2003)
www.starch-journal.de