Buffalo Gourd Root Starch. Part III. Effects of Plant Age and Spacing upon the Physico‐chemical and Rheological Properties

Abstract

AbstractBuffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima HBK) starch was previously shown to have potential for incorporation in food products. As annual cropping systems have been suggested to produce the highest starch yield per unit of land and time, a study of the effects of plant age and spacing upon the physico‐chemical and rheological properties was undertaken. Root starch content reached a plateau level (18% of fresh weight) near 2.5 months of growth in 1979, but continued to increase up to 4.5 months of age in 1981. Substantial changes among samples of different age and spacing for other compositional parameters were not observed. However, vine senescense was associated with a decrease in starch level and a concomitant rise in free sugar content. Proximate analysis of starches revealed little variation among samples. Mean granule diameters appeared to increase with increasing plant age. Patterns among samples associated with water binding capacity, alkali number, iodine affinity, inherent viscosity, or gelatinization temperature were not recognized. Internal organization of components within the granule appeared to decrease with increased plant age as shown by the parameters of swelling power, percent solubility, initial pasting temperature, and initial viscosity at 95 °C. All samples formed well developed pastes, which increased viscosity upon cooling, with final gel strength being independent of plant age or spacing.