Cereal Chem 69:309-315   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Characterization of Lotus Starch.

A. Suzuki, M. Kaneyama, K. Shibanuma, Y. Takeda, J. Abe, and S. Hizukuri. Copyright 1992 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Lotus rhizome starch and its components were characterized by gel-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) monitored with a low-angle laser-light-scattering photometer and a differential refractometer and by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) monitored with a pulsed amperometric detector, as well as by conventional analyses. Amylose molecules were large, with number- average and weight-average degrees of polymerization (DPs) of 4,170 and 8,040, respectively, number- average chain length (*?*CLn) of 540, and apparent DP distribution range of 520-42,000. The ?CLn of amylopectin was 22.3, and its distribution by gel-exclusion HPLC showed three peaks, at DP 14, 42, and 1,900, and a shoulder at DP 63. The relative chain length distribution between DP 6 and 17 analyzed by HPAEC and corrected by molar responses revealed that DP 8 and 13 were the minimum and maximum, respectively. The amylose content was 15.9% determined by iodine affinity and 17.4% determined by blue value. The onset of gelatinization determined by photopastegraphy was at 58.5 C. The amylogram of the starch resembled that of tapioca starch. The retrogradation tendency of lotus starch was slower than that of potato, lily, and kuzu starches but faster than that of tapioca starch.