Anais do Simpósio Latino Americano de Ciências de Alimentos
Anais do 14 SLACA - Simpósio Latino Americano de Ciência de Alimentos

Arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft) has high nutritional and economic potential due to its high content of easily digestible starch among starchy crops. Physicochemical and functional properties of arracacha starch vary among the different arracacha sub-varieties. The Puerto Rican cultivar is an excellent source of starch that can be used in the food industry and has not yet been exploited. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical, functional, thermal, and morphometric properties of isolated starch from the storage root, the rootstock, and stems. Chemical composition of starch was 10 to 12% moisture, 0.21 to 0.29% protein, 0.26 to 0.32% total fat, 0.10 to 0.13% ash, and 94 to 96% starch. Mineral content varied from 10 to 20 mg/100g phosphorus, 1.02 to 1.41 mg/100g iron, 2.77 to 5.07 mg/100g zinc, and 40 mg/100g calcium. Morphological characterization was carried out by means of Scanning Electron Microscope. Starches exhibited irregular shapes like polygonal and truncated for large and small granules, respectively. Granule size varied significantly in length (4.58 to 10.33 µm) and width (6.36 to 9.10 µm), while amylose content ranged from 23.86% (rootstock) to 26.14% (storage root). Paste clarity values for starches ranged from 24 to 42%, revealing more opaque pastes. Water absorption index (WAI) increased with temperature with rootstock starch showing the highest WAI within the 60-70°C temperature range. Differential scanning calorimetry results showed the gelatinization enthalpy of stem starch (13.44 J/g) was higher than the storage root (9.35 J/g). Onset, peak, and end temperatures ranged from 49.4 to 55.78 °C, 59.31 to 61.55 °C, and 59.31 to 68.67 °C, respectively, with stem starch having the highest temperatures. Overall, arracacha starch isolated from the storage root, rootstock, and stems exhibit attractive properties and can be used as an alternative for the food industry.