ABSTRACT
Waxy rice starches from three japonica cultivars (Taichung Waxy 1 [TCW1], Taichung Waxy 70 [TCW70], Tachimemochi) and one indica cultivar (Tainung Sen Waxy 2 [TNSW2]) were characterized for chemical and physicochemical properties. The amylopectin structures were different for the four waxy rice starches in terms of degree of polymerization (DP), average chain length (CL), exterior chain lengths (ECL), and distribution of chains, indicating the existence of varietal differences. The order of swelling power was TCW1 > TCW70 > TNSW2 > Tachimemochi; the order of water solubility index was TCW70 > TNSW2 > Tachimemochi > TCW1. The low water solubility index of TCW1 might be ascribed to a high DP. All starches shared similar gelatinization temperatures and enthalpies but showed distinct retrogradation patterns. TNSW2 showed the highest retrogradation rate, followed by TCW2, Tachimemochi, and TCW70. TCW70 exhibited the highest overall pasting viscosity, followed by TNSW2, TCW1, and Tachimemochi. The hardness of waxy rice starch pastes from a Brabender amyloviscograph increased rapidly after storage at 5°C for one day and remained the same or slightly increased after seven days of storage, whereas the opposite trend was observed for adhesiveness. The lower degree of retrogradation of TCW70 was probably a result of a larger amount of A chain and a shorter ECL. The changes in hardness correlated with the amount of A and B1 chains. The texture attributes of waxy rice starch pastes were significantly affected by amylopectin retrogradation during storage.
