Study on the physicochemical properties of quinoa starch

Chenopodium quinoa Willd., as a pseudocereal, has a variety of nutritional components, and has medicinal and hygienic value.In this work, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy ( SEM) and differential scanning microcalorimetry ( DSC) were utilized to analyze the structure and physicochemical properties of quinoa starch, which was prepared by alkaline method and enzyme method, respectively. Meanwhile, the freezing thaw stabilities, swelling power and iodine blue values of quinoa starch were detected.The results showed that granules of quinoa starch were small, with diameter ranging from 1.15 to 1.97 μm, and had more branched-chain starch. The swelling power, solubility, freeze-thaw stability, anti-aging properties, translucency and gelatinization temperature of these starches were significantly correlated with their respective structural features.