Outstanding Characteristics of Thai Non-GM Bred Waxy Cassava Starches Compared with Normal Cassava Starch, Waxy Cereal Starches and Stabilized Cassava Starches.

Waxy cassava roots of nine varieties successfully developed in Thailand by a non-genetic modification (non-GM), conventional breeding method were used for extracting starches and their starch physico-chemical properties were evaluated and compared with normal cassava starches, commercial waxy starches (i.e., waxy maize starch and waxy rice starch) and commercial stabilized starches (i.e., acetylated starch and hydroxypropylated starch). All waxy cassava varieties provided starches without amylose while normal cassava starches contained 18%-20% amylose contents. As determined by a Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) at 5% (dry basis), waxy cassava starches had the highest peak viscosity and the lowest setback viscosity. Cooked paste of waxy cassava starches had the greatest clarity and stability among all starches during storage at 4 ℃ for 7 days as evidenced by its high light transmittance (%T) at 650 nm. No syneresis was detected in waxy cassava starch gels after subjecting to four freeze-thaw cycles (4 weeks) indicating high potential use of waxy cassava starches, free from chemicals, to replace stabilized starches as thickening and texturing agents in food products.

Influence of reaction parameters on carboxymethylation of rice starches with varying amylose contents.

The influence of reaction parameters on the carboxymethylation of rice starches with different amylose contents was investigated. Rice starches with varying amylose contents showed various degrees of susceptibility to the reaction conditions. The maximum degree of substitution (DS) for all three rice starches was obtained under similar reaction conditions which involved a reaction medium consisting of isopropanol-water at the ratio of 90:10, a molar ratio of NaOH:AGU at 1.5 and a reaction temperature and time of 40°C and 3 h. Under these conditions, the DS for all rice starches was similar; however, when the reaction was performed under conditions using lower NaOH concentration, the effect of starch types on the DS was observed. The results could be explained in terms of the granular/structural features of the different rice starches, their degrees of granular swelling as influenced by the reaction conditions and the accessibility of the etherifying reagents to starch molecules.

Mobility and distribution of water in cassava and potato starches by 1H and 2H NMR.

Mobility and distribution of water in cassava (rainy and drought crops) and potato starches were studied by solid state and NMR relaxometry as a function of H(2)O and D(2)O contents ranging from 0 to 44% (dry basis). Measurements of relative mobility derived from (2)H solid state NMR were based on relative area and line shape analysis. The narrow peak (mobile component) started to show at 5% and increased with increasing D(2)O content. This increase in mobile fraction was accompanied by a line narrowing. The mobile fractions of deuterons reached a >98% level above 15% D(2)O, which is well below the water holding capacity of starch ( approximately 27%) and the previously assigned "glassy-rubbery transition point" (24.3%; Jouppila, K.; Roos, Y. H. The physical state of amorphous corn starch and its impact on crystallization. Carbohydr. Polym. 1997, 32, 95-104). This reconfirms the liquidlike nature of water in the so-called glassy state of starch granules. The plasticization effect of water on starch chains was observed at 14-17% for cassava and potato starches as indicated by the T(1) minimum. This, however, did not seem to relate to the difference observed in swelling among the starches studied.