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Updated: May 30, 2026

Analysis and Specification of Starch Granule Size Distributions
Published on: March 4, 2021
Physicochemical and structural properties of maize and potato starches as a function of granule size
Sushil Dhital1, Ashok K Shrestha, Jovin Hasjim
1Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Abstract:
Chemical composition, molecular structure and organization, and thermal and pasting properties of maize and potato starches fractionated on the basis of granule size were investigated to understand heterogeneity within granule populations. For both starches, lipid, protein, and mineral contents decreased and apparent amylose contents increased with granule size. Fully branched (whole) and debranched molecular size distributions in maize starch fractions were invariant with granule size. Higher amylose contents and amylopectin hydrodynamic sizes were found for larger potato starch granules, although debranched molecular size distributions did not vary. Larger granules had higher degrees of crystallinity and greater amounts of double and single helical structures. Systematic differences in pasting and thermal properties were observed with granule size. Results suggest that branch length distributions in both amylose and amylopectin fractions are under tighter biosynthetic control in potato starch than either molecular size or amylose/amylopectin ratio, whereas all three parameters are controlled during the biosynthesis of maize starch.
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