Physicochemical Properties of Maca Starch
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Food Chemistry 218 (2017) 56–63 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem Physicochemical properties of maca starch ⇑ ⇑ Ling Zhang a, Guantian Li b, Sunan Wang c, Weirong Yao a, , Fan Zhu b, a School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu Province, China b School of Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand c Canadian Food and Wine Institute, Niagara College, 135 Taylor Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0, Canada article info abstract Article history: Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers) is gaining research attention due to its unique bioactive properties. Received 22 May 2016 Starch is a major component of maca roots, thus representing a novel starch source. In this study, the Received in revised form 26 August 2016 properties of three maca starches (yellow, purple and black) were compared with commercially maize, Accepted 30 August 2016 cassava, and potato starches. The starch granule sizes ranged from 9.0 to 9.6 lm, and the granules were Available online 31 August 2016 irregularly oval. All the maca starches presented B-type X-ray diffraction patterns, with the relative degree of crystallinity ranging from 22.2 to 24.3%. The apparent amylose contents ranged from 21.0 to Keywords: 21.3%. The onset gelatinization temperatures ranged from 47.1 to 47.5 °C as indicated by differential Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers) scanning calorimetry. Significant differences were observed in the pasting properties and textural param- Starch Thermal property eters among all of the studied starches. These characteristics suggest the utility of native maca starch in Pasting products subjected to low temperatures during food processing and other industrial applications. Enzymatic susceptibility Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Finardi-Filho, 2009). The carbohydrate content is especially high and is similar to those of cereal grains such as wheat (85%) and Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers) belongs to the family Brassi- maize (70–75%) (Arendt & Zannini, 2013, chap. 1 & 2) and root caceae. It is a unique highland crop traditionally cultivated in the plants such as potato (76.6%) (Grommers & Krogt, 2009), cassava central Andes of Peru at elevations of 3500–4000 m above sea level (80%) (Zhu, 2015a), and sweet potato (80%) (Zhu & Wang, 2014). (León, 1964). There are 13 or more different ecotypes in cultiva- Previous studies have mainly focused on the extraction or tion. These can be distinguished by their root colors, which are physiological function of the bioactive components, including yellow, purple, white, gray, black, yellow/purple or white/purple. macamides (alkamides), macaenes, benzyl isothiocyanate, sterols The yellow ecotype is the commonest cultivar (47.8%), and is also and fatty acids (Wang, Wang, McNeil, & Harvey, 2007). The resi- commercially preferred (Gonzales et al., 2006). It was recom- dues remaining after the extraction of bioactive compounds from mended as a safe edible food by the FAO in 1992, and has been maca roots may represent by-products and potential waste. How- promoted for global cultivation. For example, in recent years, China ever, the possible utility of the major component (starch) has not has adopted maca as an economic crop in the highlands of the south- been studied widely. Information on maca starch is scant, with western regions. Maca is traditionally used as a stamina-builder and only one report focused on one genotype (Rondán-Sanabria & fertility-promoter (Gonzales et al., 2003) because of its medicinal Finardi-Filho, 2009). Rondán-Sanabria and Finardi-Filho (2009) ingredients, which are beneficial for the regulation of metabolism, showed that the maca starch of one ecotype had small granules, hormonal secretion, memory improvement, and antidepressant and a low gelatinization temperature (47.6 °C), and produced firm, activity (Hermann & Heller, 1997, chap. 4). The medicinal ingredi- stable gels. This suggests that maca starch could be used for food ents are only minor components according to their relative content, and other industrial applications that require processing at low while the major components of dry maca root are carbohydrates temperature. Much more knowledge of the basic properties of (59–73%) (mainly starch), protein (10–18%), fiber (8.5%), and maca starch from different varieties is required before it can be lipids (2–5%) (Dini, Migliuolo, Rastrelli, Saturnino, & Schettino, commonly used in foods. The use of new starches from non- 1994; Hermann & Heller, 1997, chap. 4; Rondán-Sanabria & conventional sources could provide further desired functional properties for added-value food product development. The objective of this research was to characterize the physico- ⇑ Corresponding authors. chemical and functional properties of starches isolated from the E-mail addresses: [email protected] (W. Yao), [email protected] three maca genotypes (yellow, purple and black) that are being (F. Zhu). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.08.123 0308-8146/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. L. Zhang et al. / Food Chemistry 218 (2017) 56–63 57 developed in the southwestern highland regions of China. Three repeated. The extracted starch was dried in an air-forced oven at commercially important starches from potato, cassava, and maize 40 °C for 24 h, and sealed in a screw-capped tube until use. were also employed as control samples for comparison. This knowledge of the basic properties of its starch will guide the com- 2.3. Determination of the chemical composition prehensive utilization of maca, and provide reference for further applications of the starch. The starches were analyzed for protein, lipid, and phosphorus contents according to AOAC official methods (methods 960.52, 920.39 and 923.03, respectively) (AOAC, 2000). The protein content 2. Materials and methods was calculated using a conversion factor of 6.25. 2.1. Materials and reagents 2.4. Starch granule morphology The maca roots of three genotypes of different colors (yellow, The morphology of starch granule was investigated using a purple and black) were obtained from Yunnan province, China. Polarize light microscope (Leica DMRE, Germany) and a scanning Potato was obtained from a local New Zealand market (Countdown electron microscopy (SEM) (S-3400N, Hitachi High-Technologies, Supermarkets). Two types of maize starch (Melogel and GELOSE Japan). Samples were coated with palladium–gold. Images of 50) were obtained from Ingredion ANZ Pty Ltd. (Auckland, New starch granules were obtained at an accelerating voltage of Zealand). Maize starch (Melogel) was used as the reference sample, 5.0 kV at various magnifications. and GELOSE 50 is a type of maize starch with an apparent amylose content of 50%. Commercial cassava starch was obtained from a 2.5. Particle size distribution local supermarket (Mayushan Food Co., Ltd, Taiwan). Pancreatic a-amylase (PPA, EC 3.2.1.1, type 1A) was purchased from Sigma- The size distribution of the starch granules was determined Aldrich Chemical Co. (Auckland, New Zealand). Phenol, sulfuric using a Mastersizer 2000 particle size analyzer (Malvern Instru- acid and Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were obtained from Sigma- ments Ltd., Worcestershire, UK). Starch samples (100 mg, dry Aldrich Chemie GmbH (Deisenhofen, Germany), Scharlau (Barce- weight basis) were dispersed in 10 mL double-deionized water lona, Spain) and Avantor Performance Materials Inc. (PA, USA), and the mixture was mixed vigorously for 10 min using a vortex respectively. All other reagents and chemicals were obtained from mixer. Then the starch particle size was measured at a speed of ECP Ltd. (Auckland, New Zealand). 2100 r/min. 2.6. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) 2.2. Starch isolation XRD was performed using an Empyrean X-ray diffractometer Starch was isolated according to previous method (Annor, (PANalytical, Netherlands) according to a published method Marcone, Bertoft, & Seetharaman, 2014) with some modifications. (Lopez-Rubio, Flanagan, Gilbert, & Gidley, 2008) with some modi- Briefly, dry maca roots (500 g) were thoroughly washed, and then fications. Starches were equilibrated over a 44% potassium carbon- macerated in a beaker using 1:2 (w/v) (maca root to deionized ate (K2CO3) solution at room temperature for two weeks before water) for 48 h, manually peeled, and further homogenized in a analysis. mixer at full speed for 40 s with cold deionized water. The slurry The diffractometer was equipped with a long copper fine-focus was sieved. The supernatant was collected, and the insolubles were tube and the operating conditions were: target voltage, 45 kV; cur- re-suspended in water and further homogenized four times. Then rent, 40 mA; step size, 0.01°; receiving slit width, 0.1 nm; scan step the slurry was stirred using 2 L of sodium borate buffer time, 51 s; and scanning range, 4–40° 2h. (12.5 mM, pH 10), containing 0.5% SDS (w/v) and 0.5% Na2S2O5 The crystalline and amorphous areas were determined accord- (w/v) for 30 min to remove the proteins, the residue was then ing to a previous method (Hayakawa, Tanaka, Nakamura, Endo, & recovered by centrifugation at 3000Âg for 15 min. The above Hoshino, 1997). Crystallinity was calculated as follows: Degree of extraction step was repeated. The resulting residue was washed crystallinity (%) = Ac  100/(Ac + Aa), where Ac is the total area of several times with deionized water and recovered by centrifuga- the crystalline peaks, Aa is the amorphous area of the tion at 3000Âg for 15 min. The starch slurry was passed through diffractogram. four layers of cheesecloth and then through 140 lm nylon mesh. The slurry was centrifuged at 3000Âg for 15 min again, and the 2.7. Apparent amylose content brown layer formed on top of the starch layer was removed with a spatula. Then the starch was suspended in deionized water and The apparent amylose content (AAM) was determined using centrifuged. These steps were repeated three more times to iodine binding method described previously (Li, Wang, & Zhu, remove all the brown particles from the starch fraction.