Granular properties of different starch phosphate monoesters

Different starch types (corn, rice, and potato starch, corn amylose and corn amylopectin) were phosphorylated by reaction with a mixture of mono and disodium phosphate at different molar ratios (mol phosphate/mol anhydrous glucose) under heat and vacuum. The starch granules of the modified and the native starches were microscopically examined for their sizes and morphology. The correlation between the variation in granular size of the modified starches with the extent of phosphorylation and some other physicochemical properties was studied. The granular size was generally increased while the iodine absorption capacity was decreased by phosphorylation. There were strong correlations between the variation in the starch granular size in dependence on phosphorylation and the corresponding changes in some physicochemical parameter of starch, e.g. solubility, swelling and paste clarity. This relationship was most evident in the case of phosphorylated corn amylopectin. Starch granular size can be taken as a quick indicator of the physicochemical properties of the native and modified starches.