Abstract
ABSTRACTKudzu starch has been used as a natural healthy food worldwide. Low solubility, poor water dispensability, high paste viscosity and low fluidity limit its wholesome utility. In order to improve its processing properties and applicability, kudzu starch has been modified using a branching enzyme (BE) from Rhodothermus obamensis and in combination with maltogenic amylase (MA) from Bacillus stearothermophilus. The results indicated that amylose content and molecular weight decreased with enzyme treatment but the proportion of short chains and branch density increased. The natural A-starch type crystalline structure changes to V-type but with decreased crystallinity. The storage modulus and loss modulus depended on the enzyme treatment time. Overall, enzymatic modification results in starch fractions with increased solubility and paste transparency, reduced gelatinization temperature, gelatinization enthalpy, and viscosity. The outcome opens up new opportunities to develop more palatable and marketable products based on kudzu starch.
Highlights
Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is an herbal plant utilized in traditional Chinese medicine for generations
maltogenic amylase (MA)-treated starches were prepared by treating the starch dispersion with MA (10 U/g dry weight of starch) at 50°C for 7 h, stirring constantly, and the reaction was stopped with 1 mol/L NaOH solution of 2.5 mL
Pores are noticed on the granules. It appears that branching enzyme (BE) attacks from outside-in on starch granules presumably due to smooth granular surface that precludes enzyme channeling into the interiors of granules
Summary
Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is an herbal plant utilized in traditional Chinese medicine for generations. It has several bioactive isoflavones (16.2%, w/w) such as daidzein, daidzin and puerarin with anticancer properties in addition to treating influenza, fever, dysentery, hypertension, and angina pectoris.[1,2,3,4] Among the other nutrients, starch is an important component and accounts for about 15–34% of fresh kudzu root.[5] Kudzu starch is natural and is not processed as of corn and potato starches. It possesses a small quantity of isoflavonoids with neutral flavor and smooth paste texture and is being used as a functional food.[6,7] its large-scale utility is limited due to poor solubility and dispersal, high paste viscosity and bad fluidity, to name a few
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