Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Tropical Tuber Starches: A Review

Abstract

The tropical tuber crops contain starch as the major component and thus act as important source of starch. Except cassava and to a smaller extent sweet potato, starch from other tuber crops has not been exploited for industrial applications partly because of difficulty in the extraction of the pure starches and partly because of non-availability of information about the properties of these lesser known starches. This review attempts at collating data available on the physicochemical and functional characteristics of the tropical tuber starches, highlighting their unique properties and potential field of applications. The physicochemical properties like granule shape and size, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, amylose content, or content of non-starchy components, show considerable variation among the tuber starches. In addition, factors like genetic origin, environmental conditions and age of the plant also influence the properties. The starch granules of Colocasia esculenta and Dioscorea esculenta tubers are very small whereas those of Canna edulis are very large. XRD patterns of yam starches are generally ‘B’, while the aroid starches possess ‘A’ patterns. DSC gelatinisation temperatures are low for cassava starch and high for the aroid starches. The functional characteristics like viscosity, swelling power and solubility also depend on a number of factors such as varietal variation, method of extraction, processing conditions and instruments used for analysis. Viscosity is high for cassava and C. edulis starches, but low for most aroid starches. Clarity is good for cassava and yam starches compared to the others. Digestibility also varies among the starches. The diversity available in the tuber starches shows that some of the starches can be used in place of chemically modified starches available on the market. The realisation of their importance can help in value addition of these neglected crops and also provide starch with special properties for specific applications.