Comparison of the physicochemical and functional properties of Aconitum carmichaeli and Aconiti lateralis Preparata starches

Abstract

Aconitum, an important toxic traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in clinical practice. Owing to its toxicity, it should be processed before application. Aconiti lateralis Preparata (ALP) is one of the most important commercial processed products of Aconitum. The object of this work is to study the physicochemical and functional properties of Aconitum and ALP starches. The results revealed that AM content changed, transforming from 37.5 to 27.5% after processing. The shape of Aconitum starch granules also changed from spherical or oval with sizes of 5–15 µm to irregular and polygonal with sizes of 30–60 µm. The crystallinity of Aconitum decreased from 38.7 to 23.0% after processing. The transition temperatures (To, Tp and Tc) and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔHgel) were determined using DSC. To, Tp and Tc decreased from 52.9 to 48.6, 66.9 to 58.9, and 82.2 to 69.3°C, respectively. Aconitum starch showed higher ΔHgel values (1.6 J/g), while the ALP starch showed lower values (0.4 J/g).