Abstract:
In this study, starches isolated from rhizomes of three cultivars of edible canna (namely; Japanese-green, Thai-green and Thai-purple) were modified by acetylation in order to reduce retrogradation and increase gel stability. Acetylation was carried out by treating starches with 5, 7 and 9% (w/w) of acetic anhydride at room temperature and pH between 8.0 - 8.5. The extent of acetylation increased proportionally with concentration of acetic anhydride used. The percentages of acetyl group determined by titration method were 1.41, 2.05 and 2.55 for Thai-purple starch; 1.43, 2.02 and 2.53 for Thai-green starch and 1.53, 2.09 and 2.53 for Japanese-green starch. Examining under scanning electron microscope revealed that all of modified starches were still in intact granular form and there was no difference between native and modified starches. The viscoamylographs of 6% starch determined by Rapid Visco Analyzer at 160 rpm showed that acetylation decreased the pasting temperatures and slightly decreased the hot paste viscosity. The setback values of acetylated starches were approximately 15-40% lower than those of native starches. This indicated that the retrogradation of canna starches was substantially reduced by acetylation. The firmness (hardness) of canna starches gel was analyzed by texture analyzer using a 20 mm diameter-cylindrical plunger. With 6% starch solids in water at pH 6.8, all acetylated canna starches gave gels that were much less firm than those of corresponding native starches. For example, the firmness values of 1.53, 2.09, 2.53% acetyl groups and native Japanese-green starches were 197, 192, 205 and 2392 g, respectively. The results obtain from freeze-thaw stability indicated that the retrogradation of all modified canna starches could be reduced by acetylation.