Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477 DOI 10.1002/star.

200300273 469

Hunjai Choia Properties of Korean Amaranth Starch Compared to

Wansoo Kimb
Malshick Shina Waxy Millet and Waxy Sorghum Starches
a
Department of Food and Characteristics of waxy type starches isolated from amaranth, waxy millet and waxy
Nutrition, sorghum harvested in Korea were evaluated. Shapes of all starch granules were poly-
Chonnam National University, gonal or slightly round and the surfaces of waxy millet and waxy sorghum starch
Gwangju, Korea granules showed visible pores. Amylose contents of the three starches were between
b
Department of Culinary Science,
3.2–6.0% and amaranth starch showed the highest water binding capacity (WBC)
Honam University,
Gwangju, Korea (130.7%). The swelling power and solubility of amaranth starch studied at 65.0–95.07C
increased about 13.7- and 14.0-fold, respectively, with increase in temperature. Swel-
ling power of waxy sorghum starch was the highest (72.6 at 957C) among the starches
studied, while amaranth starch had a constant swelling power and its rate of solubility
increasely only slowly at temperatures higher than 757C. From RVA data, initial pasting
temperatures of amaranth, waxy sorghum and waxy millet starches were 75.7, 73.3
and 75.27C, respectively. Peak viscosity, breakdown, and setback from trough of
amaranth starch were 68.3, 16.7 and 7.5 RVU, respectively, which were the lowest
values among the starches investigated. Using DSC, onset temperature of gelatiniza-
tion of amaranth starch was 1.5–4.07C higher than those of waxy sorghum and millet
starches, corresponding to the RVA result. The enthalpies of gelatinization of the
starches studied in our laboratory were in the range of 8.5–12.7 J/g with decreasing
order of waxy sorghum . amaranth . waxy millet starch.

Keywords: Amaranth starch; Waxy millet; Waxy sorghum; Pasting properties

1 Introduction ty and stabilized viscosity. Potential uses for amaranth

Amaranth (Suvarna, Amaranthus cruentus) is a tall plant
with very broad leaves, that produces tiny seeds on a
sorghum-like head. As a health functional food, it has
nutritional benefits such as high contents of protein,
squalene, unsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, iron, cal-
cium, zinc, and vitamin E and B complexes, in combina-
tion with low levels of saturated fatty acids and antinutri-
tional factors [1–2].
starch include dusting powders for cosmetics, biode-
gradable plastics, paper coatings, laundry starch, food
thickeners for soups, gravies and sauces, fat replacers,
and starch-based spherical aggregates [1, 8–10]. Addi-
tionally the starch can be used in breakfast cereals, muf-
fins, cookies, snacks, pastas, and health/diet food [11].
Compared to wheat and maize starches, amaranth starch
has a much lower amylose content, lower swelling power
and Amylograph viscosity, higher solubility and gelatini-

Grain amaranth, a pseudocereal, contains about 50–60%
of starch, which is primarily located in the perisperm. The
isolation of the starch from amaranth seeds is very difficult
because of the small starch granules and the relatively
high protein content of the seeds [3]. Some scientists
have tried to develop new methods for isolation of starch
to improve processing and qualities of amaranth starch
[4–6]. Due to its tiny uniform granules of 1–3 mm in diam-
eter, amaranth starch has gained interest for food appli-
cations [4–7]. Amaranth starch consists of 92–95% amy-
lopectin, which in turn gives excellent freeze/thaw stabili-
Correspondence: Malshick Shin, Department of Food and Nutri-
tion, Chonnam National University, 300 Yongbongdong, Bukgu,
Gwangju, 500-757, Korea. Phone: +82-62-530-1336, Fax: +82-
62-530-1339, e-mail: msshin@chonnam.ac.kr.
Research Paper
zation temperature range, higher water uptake, and
higher sorption capacity at high water activity (Aw) range
[12, 13].
Even if vegetable amaranth has been used in the Korean
traditional cuisine since the Chosun Dynasty, cultivation
of grain amaranth in Korea started only recently, and
extensive researches on its seed or components are
needed to promote usage of domestically harvested grain
amaranth. Studies on this field in Korea so far were limited
to starch properties isolated from Korean amaranth alone,
or comparison to other waxy starches, and identification
of squalene in seed and its functionality [14, 15].
Grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), which is
similar to amaranth in shape, has been expected to pro-
duce promising value-added products, which have

 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.starch-journal.de

470 H. Choi et al.
bioactive functionality due to a high level of dietary fiber
and phenolic compounds, especially tannins. Some
properties of sorghum starch are affected by the isolation
method, environmental and genetic factors [16, 17]. Pearl
millet (Setaria italica Beauvos), similar to grain amaranth
in size, is currently used in various dishes mixed with rice,
baked goods, weaning food and brewing industry. Few
studies on starches isolated from waxy sorghum and
waxy millet, however, were undertaken so far, even if
these starches have very promising prospects in the food
industry due to their functionality [16–19].
In the presented study, it was attempted to isolate the
starch from domestically cultivated amaranth, waxy sor-
ghum and waxy millet, and to measure and compare their
X-ray diffraction patterns, and physicochemical and
pasting property in order to establish basic information on
novel ingredients for the food industry, especially for Ko-
rean traditional foods.
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Materials
Amaranth, harvested in October 2000, was donated from
Korea Plant Resource Institute (Ilsan, Korea), waxy sor-
ghum was purchased from Guesan, Chungbuk, and waxy
millet from Naju, Chonnam. Megazyme kit (Cat No.
R-TSTA) was purchased from Megazyme International
Ltd. (Wicklow, Ireland). Each flour sample was ground in a
mill (M – 680T, Hanil, Seoul, Korea) for 2 min, passed
through a 45 mesh sieve and stored at room temperature
in a desiccator for further analysis.
2.2 Isolation of starch
Starches were isolated from grain amaranth, waxy sor-
ghum and waxy millet flour according to the alkaline
steeping method [5, 15] and stored in a desiccator for
further analysis.
Samples were steeped in 0.25% aqueous NaOH solution
for 24 h at room temperature and stirred three times dur-
ing this period. After steeping, the sample was ground in a
blender (HR1734, Philips, Brazil) at full speed for 2 min,
and was filtered stepwise through 100 (,150 mm) and 270
mesh (,53 mm) sieves. In case of amaranth, 400 mesh
(,38 mm) was additionally used. The starch was then
isolated from the filtrate by centrifugation at 25,0006g for
20 min. The supernatant was discarded, and the top yel-
lowish layer of protein was removed. This step was
repeated to obtain a white starch layer. The starch layer
was resuspended in distilled water, shaken and cen-
 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477
trifuged as described above. The starch slurry was then
neutralized by repeated washing, dried and passed
through a 100 mesh sieve.
2.3 Analytical procedures
Protein (N66.25), moisture, ash and lipid content (crude,
total) of flour and starch and proportion of damaged
starch were determined according to AOAC [20].
2.4 X-ray diffractometry
The crystallinity of the powdered starch samples was an-
alyzed using an X-ray diffractometer, Model D/Max-1200
(Rigaku Co., Tokyo, Japan) with following conditions: tar-
get Cu-Ka; filter Ni; scanning speed, 87/min; diffraction
angle (2y) 0–407; voltage 40 kV, and current 20 mA. Type
of crystalline structure and crystallinities of starch sam-
ples were determined from the location and intensity of
peak and area under the peak.
2.5 Scanning electron microscopy
The granule morphology of the starch sample was
observed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM)
(JEOL, JSM-5400, Tokyo, Japan). The sample was
mounted on an aluminum stub using a double-backed
cellophane tape, coated with gold-palladium (60:40,
w/w), and examined at magnifications of 1,000, and 2,000
for the waxy starches and 7,500 for amaranth starch.
2.6 Physicochemical assays
The amylose level and water binding capacity (WBC) of
starch were determined according to modified methods
of Williams et al. [21], and Medcalf and Gilles [22],
respectively. The standard curve of amylose was Y =
0.0089X 1 0.0528 ( r= 0.99), where X = amylose content
(%), and Y = absorbance at 680 nm, based on fractiona-
tion of rice starch by Montgomery and Senti [23]. Swelling
power and solubility at 55–957C were analyzed by a
modified Schoch method [24]. Briefly, a homogeneous
mixture of starch (0.5 g, dry basis, db) and water (40 mL)
was heated in a 50 mL centrifuge tube at 55–957C for 30
min with gentle stirring using a magnetic stir bar. Imme-
diately after centrifuging at 15,000 rpm (25,0006g) for 30
min, the weight of sediment was recorded, and the car-
bohydrate content in the supernatant was determined
using phenol-sulfuric acid [25]. Swelling power was
obtained by the ratio of the wet mass of the sedimented
www.starch-journal.de
Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477 Properties of Korean Amaranth Starch 471

gel to the dry matter in the gel. Solubility was calculated
as the amount (%) of starch dissolved in the continuous
liquid phase.
Total starch assay was performed with the Megazyme kit
according to AACC 76-13 [26]. Damaged starch was
determined in acetate buffer solution (pH 4.6–4.8) by
AACC 76-30A and 22-15 [26], and calculated using the
following equation:
Damaged starch (%) = (0.082)6(mg maltose/10 g sam-
ple)
Iodine affinities of soluble fractions of amaranth, waxy
sorghum and waxy millet starches, which leached out at
certain temperature were measured by the modified
method of Williams et al. [21].
tically sealed in aluminum pans, held overnight, and
heated from 30–1207C with 107C/min heating speed. An
empty aluminum pan was used as reference. Tempera-
tures of onset (To), peak (Tp) and conclusion (Tc) of gelatini-
zation and the endothermic enthalpy (DH) were recorded.
2.8 Statistical analysis
All samples were analyzed at least in duplicate, unless
otherwise indicated, and mean values and standard
deviations were reported. Statistical analyses were per-
formed by Duncan’s multiple-range test using the SAS
software package (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).
3 Results and Discussion

2.7 Pasting properties 3.1 Proximate analyses

The pasting properties of the starches (3 g, 14% moisture
basis) in water (25 mL) were determined using the Rapid
Visco Analyser (RVA, Newport Scientific Pty. Ltd., Nar-
rabeen, Australia). The sample was programmed to hold
at 507C for 2 min, heated to 957C in 6 min, held at 957C for
4 min, cooled to 507C in 6 min and held at 507C for 4 min,
according to the modified AACC method 61-02 [26]. From
the curve, initial pasting temperature and viscosities of
peak (P), holding strength (H) and final viscosity (C) were
obtained, and viscosities of setback from trough (C-H)
and of breakdown (P-H) were calculated.
DSC was performed on a Differential Scanning Calori-
meter (DSC-SP, Rheometric Scientific, New Castle, DE,
USA) and the instrument was calibrated with indium.
Starch samples and distilled water (1:3, w/w) were herme-
Tab. 1 shows analytical data of milled flours and starches
of amaranth, waxy sorghum and waxy millet. The mois-
ture content of all milled flour samples was similar, and
protein level of amaranth flour was 4–5% higher than that
of milled waxy cereal flours. Our data were 0.5–1.3%
higher than those reported from Zhao and Whistler [27],
and from Paredes-Lopez et al. [12]. Amaranth had a high
content of lysine and leucine but was relatively low in sul-
fur-containing amino acids [3], indicating that amaranth
grain is as good as or better than true cereals as a protein
source [28]. Amaranth had an about 80% higher ash
content than waxy cereal flours, presumably due to a high
level of calcium in amaranth. Crude and total lipids in
amaranth flour were about 1.5–2 times higher than those
in the waxy flours. According to Sun et al. [29], amaranth
contained 6.0–9.0% of fat, especially squalenes, which

Tab. 1. Proximate analysis data of amaranth, waxy (wx) sorghum and waxy (wx) millet flours and of
its starches.

Samples Moisture [%] Protein [%] Ash [%] Lipids [%]

Crude Total

Flours
Amaranth 11.5 6 0.0 16.3 6 0.0a 5.1 6 0.1a 5.9 6 0.1a 11.5 6 0.2a
wx-Sorghum 11.3 6 0.1 11.4 6 0.3c 2.8 6 0.0b 2.7 6 0.1c 5.0 6 0.1c
wx-Millet 11.4 6 0.0 12.4 6 0.1b 2.8 6 0.0b 3.5 6 0.0b 8.1 6 0.3b
Starches
Amaranth 11.3 6 0.1c 0.1 6 0.0c 1.2 6 0.0c 0.01 6 0.0b 0.1 6 0.0b
wx-Sorghum 14.1 6 0.1a 0.2 6 0.0b 1.3 6 0.0b 0.10 6 0.0a 0.2 6 0.0a
wx-Millet 12.7 6 0.1b 0.2 6 0.0a 1.4 6 0.0a 0.04 6 0.0b 0.2 6 0.04a

Values are means of duplicate determinations. Different superscripts within column indicated signifi-
cant differences (p , 0.05).

 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.starch-journal.de

472 H. Choi et al. Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477

are usually found in sea animals. The investigated star-
ches had a much lower content of impurities compared to
the milled flour, especially amaranth starch. The amount
of crude fat in waxy millet starch was slightly higher than
that in other starches. We found that starch recovery of
amaranth was higher than that reported by Radiosavljevic
et al. [5], and the recoveries of the two waxy cereals were
lower than reported data [18, 30]. These differences were
probably caused by cultivation conditions, species and
isolation methods (Tab. 2).
3.2 Starch granule morphology
round edges and some pores at the surface, and the
granular sizes were 10.0–20.4 and 5.0–10.0 mm, respec-
tively. It is known that starch granule size has an effect on
the swelling power [32], and that, if sorghum, millet, wheat,
rye and barley starches have pores at the granule surface,
the sensitivity to enzyme attack will be increased [33].
X-ray diffraction patterns in Fig. 2 indicate all starch sam-
ples possess typical “A” type crystallinity. From the area
under the diffraction angle (2y) in the range 13.0–22.07,
which closely indicates the crystallinity of starches [34],
the three starches showed a similar crystallinity.

Fig. 1 shows the granule shape and size of the three
starches investigated using SEM. To obtain similar dimen-
sions in the micrographs, a magnification of 7,500 was
chosen for amaranth starch and of 1,000 for the two waxy
starches. Amaranth starch granules were polygonal, with
no fissures in the surface, being 0.8–2.0 mm in diameter.
This is in agreement with Parades-Lopez [31], who also
suggested the possible use of amaranth starch as excel-
lent dispersion or coating material, due to its large surface
area per unit weight. The granules of both waxy sorghum
and waxy millet starches were polygonal in shape with
3.3 Physiochemical properties of starches
The amylose content is an important factor affecting
swelling power, solubility and gel forming property of
starch. Amaranth, waxy sorghum and waxy millet
starches contained 3.2, 3.8 and 6.1% of amylose, respec-
tively (Tab. 2). In this study, a standard curve for amylose
determination was established using rice starch, which
might be slightly different depending on rice source and
experimentation used. It was reported that amylose con-
tents of waxy sorghum [30], of domestic waxy millet [35]

Tab. 2. Physicochemical properties of amaranth, waxy (wx) sorghum and waxy (wx) millet flours and
starches.

Samples Flours Starches

Total Starch Amylose Water binding Damaged
starch [%] recovery* [%] Content [%] capacity [%] starch [%]

Amaranth 59.8 6 0.3b 87.2 6 0.1a 3.2 6 0.1b 130.7 6 1.1a 7.6 6 0.2a
62.4 6 0.0a 78.2 6 0.1b 3.1 6 0.1b 94.4 6 0.2c 1.4 6 0.0b
wx-Sorghum
wx-Millet 63.4 6 0.6a 70.3 6 0.0c 6.0 6 0.1a 96.4 6 0.4b 2.4 6 0.1b

* Starch recovery: Ratio of isolated starch (g) to total starch (g) in sample.
Values are means of duplicate determinations. Different superscripts within column indicated signifi-
cant differences (p , 0.05).

Fig. 1. Scanning electron microphotographs of amaranth (A), waxy millet (B) and waxy sor-
ghum (C) starch granules.

 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.starch-journal.de

Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477
Fig. 2. X-ray diffractograms of amaranth (A), waxy sor-
ghum (B) and waxy millet (C) starches.
and of amaranth starch [36–38] were 0.9, 8.0 and 0.2–
10.6%, respectively, suggesting that the cultivation
method was another important factor affecting starch
properties, besides species.
Total starch content of amaranth, waxy sorghum and
waxy millet was 59.8, 62.4, and 63.4%, respectively
(Tab. 2), which was in the middle range of previously
reported data (48.0–69.0%) [39]. Jorge et al. [30] found
approximately 75% of starch in sorghum. Yang and Seib
[17] reported that starch recovery of sorghum treated with
protease was about 72.2–79.4%, which was mainly
affected by the isolation method rather than species or
cultivation. The data on millet starch content reported by
Malleshi et al. [18], about 60%, was similar to ours.
The water binding capacity, i.e. the amount of water
absorbed to the amorphous regions of the starch gran-
ules and/or adsorbed to the surface of the graunles (a
large surface area results from a small particle size), is
considerably affected by sufficient free spaces between
starch granules [19]. WBC of amaranth starch was
130.7%, which was higher than that of the two waxy
starches (94.4% for waxy sorghum and 96.4% for waxy
millet starch) (Tab. 2). Lorenz and Collins [38] reported
that WBC of amaranth starch was 145.6%, which was
high, compared to that of wheat, potato or barley
starch, and that starches with low amylose content
showed high WBC. WBC of waxy millet was 80.1% as
determined by Kim et al. [35], and was 83.0–100.0%
according to Beleia et al. [19]. Waxy sorghum had 73.0–
 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Properties of Korean Amaranth Starch 473
96.0% of WBC as reported by Carcea et al. [40] who
explained weak bondings between amorphous regions
were responsible for a high amount of water absorbed
to the granule, which agreed to our data. Tab. 2 also
shows the level of damaged starch, which was known
to relate to the increase in WBC. Damaged starch in
amaranth was higher than that in the other two waxy
starches, because amaranth starch was isolated using
higher concentration of alkaline solution (0.25% vs.
0.2% NaOH solution) and was additionally filtered
through 400 mesh sieve as well as 100 and 270 mesh
sieves. Perez et al. [37] reported 14.0–14.9% of
damaged starch in amaranth by alkaline steeping, which
was much higher than the values determined by us,
indicating amylase could have damaging effect on
starch even under alkaline steeping.
Swelling powers of three different starch suspensions
heated at 55–957C are shown in Fig. 3. Up to 657C the
swelling power of three starches was similar, but major
differences between amaranth and two waxy starches
were observed at temperatures higher than 757C. The
swelling power of amaranth starch did not change at all
at . 757C, while that of the two waxy starches increased
strongly at temperatures . 657C. The starches used in
this experiment were mostly composed of amylopectin
which could swell at lower temperature, confirming the
swelling powers of waxy starches showed higher values
than those of normal starches [41]. The order of swelling
power of starches at 87–957C was waxy sorghum .
waxy millet . amaranth. It was reported that factors
such as properties and intensity of the three-dimensional
network of micelles in starch granule, bonding degrees
at the molecular level, branching of outer parts in the
amylopectin molecule, and properties and amount of
nonstarch components had great influence on swelling
power [42].
When a starch suspension is heated, starch granules
swell and are leached out partially. The degree of swelling
power and solubility is influenced by the crystalline type
and the shape of starches used. As seen in Fig. 4, solu-
bility of amaranth starch was much higher than that of
other two waxy cereal starches at 65–757C and, similar to
swelling power, not much change in solubility was seen
after 757C. In contrast, solubilities of waxy sorghum and
of waxy millet starches increased considerably at . 657C,
the increase for waxy millet starch being less steep. It
appears that at lower temperature high solubility of
amaranth starch used in this study might be attributed to
starch damage. It is also known that fast swelling cereal
starches are less soluble than slowly swelling ones,
though the relationship between swelling power and sol-
ubility is not always linear [41].
www.starch-journal.de
474 H. Choi et al.
Iodine affinity of leached carbohydrate solutions is
defined as the intensity of staining caused by the inclu-
sion compounds formed between linear starch fractions
and iodine. The longer chain length of starch gives the
maximum absorbance at longer wavelength. As for waxy
starches, iodine binding was affected by the degree of
polymerization and/or dissolved amylose in starch solu-
tion [14]. Fig. 5 shows affinities of leached carbohydrate in
starch solutions of amaranth, waxy sorghum and waxy
millet to iodine at 55–957C, expressed as absorbance at
680 nm. Waxy millet starch had the greatest absorbance
of all starches studied, presumably because the starch
fractions composed of longer chain were continuously
leached out from the waxy millet starch solution when
heated at temperatures higher than 787C. At . 757C,
amaranth starch solutions showed no change in iodine
affinity. An intermediate iodine affinity value was seen in
waxy sorghum starch (Fig. 5).
 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477
Fig. 3. Swelling patterns of amaranth,
waxy sorghum and waxy millet starch
suspensions.
Fig. 4. Solubility patterns of amaranth,
waxy sorghum and waxy millet starch
suspensions.
3.4 Rheological properties of starches
Starch can be widely applied in the food industry partially
due to viscosity change of starch paste during heating
and cooling. Tab. 3 gives viscosity values of starch pastes
measured by RVA. Initiation temperatures for gelatiniza-
tion of amaranth, waxy millet, and waxy sorghum starch
were 75.7, 75.2, and 73.37C, respectively, and those were
slightly higher than reported data, which were 75.17C for
amaranth starch determined by Lee et al. [4]; 69.0–69.37C
for waxy and 71.7–73.77C for normal millet starch by Kim
et al. [35]; and 72.17C for waxy and 74.77C for normal
sorghum starch by Jorge et al. [30]. Peak viscosity of
amaranth starch showed 68.3 RVU that was about 1/4–
1/3 of that of waxy sorghum or waxy millet starch, and
stable viscosity pattern without much viscosity increase
was seen. According to Parades-Lopez [31], amaranth
starch had low viscosity, due to short chain length and to
www.starch-journal.de
Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477 Properties of Korean Amaranth Starch 475

Fig. 5. Iodine affinity of leached carbohy-

drate solutions from amaranth, waxy sor-
ghum and waxy millet starches.

Tab. 3. Pasting properties of amaranth, waxy (wx) sorghum and waxy (wx) millet starches deter-
mined by Rapid Visco Analyser.

Starches Initial Viscosity [RVU]

pasting
Peak (P) Holding Final Breakdown C-H*
Temperature
strength (C) (P-H)
[7C]
(H)

Amaranth 75.7 68.3 51.7 59.2 16.6 7.5

73.3 262.8 106.9 148.9 155.9 42.0
wx-Sorghum
wx- Millet 75.2 202.8 95.5 116.3 107.3 20.8

C-H: Setback from trough.

irreversible damage treated with alkaline media. Perez et
al. [37] suggested that starch with low peak viscosity and
stable viscosity regardless of temperature change, like
native amaranth starch, could be an ideal ingredient for
instant soup mixes and suitable thickeners in sauces and
dressings. The other two waxy starches gave a sharp
increase in viscosity right after initiation of gelatinization,
reached the peak viscosity within a short period of time
(less than 2 min) and a distinct breakdown occurred
(Tab. 3). This agrees with other studies [13, 35, 43].
It was reported that if viscosity of setback were high, the
retrogradation of starch paste would progress rapidly
[44]. In our experiment, we chose setback viscosity as an
indication of retrogradation of starch paste, and found
that the retrogradation of the two waxy starch pastes was
much faster than that of amaranth starch paste. Addi-
tionally, Goering et al. [45] reported that starch paste
composed of large size granules gave a high viscosity,
and we found the same trends, showing starch paste
viscosity decreased in the series waxy sorghum . waxy
millet . amaranth starch.
Tab. 4 shows the DSC data for three different starches.
Similar to RVA, all starch pastes showed single endo-
thermic pattern in DSC (DSC pattern not shown).
Gelatinization temperature ranges of amaranth, waxy
sorghum, and waxy millet starch were 69.3–83.2, 67.8–
81.7, and 65.3–81.67C, respectively, with a slightly high
onset temperature of gelatinization in amaranth starch
paste. Biliaderis et al. [46] reported that the endother-
mic enthalpy was affected by heating rate, water con-
tent in gel, and starch damage. We obtained enthalpy
of waxy sorghum and of amaranth starch was 2.1–4.2
J/g higher than that of waxy millet starch, this is prob-
ably attributable to a high amount of amylopectin in the
crystalline region of starch granules. This is consistent
with the data from X-ray diffractograms (Fig. 2). Gelati-
nization temperature range of starch varies with meth-
odology that is based on which physical properties are
used. Lee et al. [14] found 58.7–64.0 and 67.27C for
onset temperature of gelatinization of waxy rice and of
waxy corn starch, respectively, and those temperatures
were lower than 69.37C (Tab. 4) for amaranth starch
studied in our laboratory, and 9.7–13.5, 14.6, and

 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.starch-journal.de

476 H. Choi et al. Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477

Tab. 4. DSC data of amaranth, waxy (wx) sorghum and [4] J. Uriyapongson, P. Rayas-Duarte: Comparison of yield and
waxy (wx) millet starches. properties of amaranth starches using wet and dry-wet mill-
ing process. Cereal Chem. 1994, 71, 571–577.
Starches Crystalline melting endotherm [5] M. Radosavljevic, J. Jane, L. A. Johnson: Isolation of ama-
ranth starch by diluted alkaline-protease treatment. Cereal
To Tp Tc DH Chem. 1998, 75, 212–216.
[7C] [7C] [7C] [J/g] [6] E. Perez, Y. A. Bahnassey, W. M. Breene: A simple laboratory
scale method for isolation of amaranth starch. Starch/Stärke
Amaranth 69.3 74.9 83.2 10.6 1993, 45, 211–214.
wx- Sorghum 67.8 73.2 81.7 12.7 [7] M. F. Marcone: Starch properties of Amaranthus pumilus
wx-Millet 65.3 76.4 81.6 8.5 (seabeach amaranth): a threatened plant species with
potential benefits for the breeding/amelioration of present
Amaranthus cultivars. Food Chem. 2001, 73, 61–66.
To: onset temperature of melting.
Tp: peak temperature of melting. [8] J. W. Lehman: Grain Amaranth. Developing 21st century
products from the legendary sister crop of maize. Int. Food
Tc: conclusion temperature of melting. Ingredients 1992, 3, 26–35.
DH: enthalpy of endotherm.
[9] N. T. Ahamed, R. S. Singhal, P. R. Kulkarni, D. D. Kale, M.
Pal: Studies on Chenopodium quinoa and Amaranthus
paniculatas starch as biodegradable filters in LDPE films.
14.3 J/g for the enthalpy of waxy rice, waxy corn and Carbohydr. Polym. 1996, 31, 157–160.
amaranth starches, respectively, which were higher than [10] T. A. Tari, U. S. Annapure, R. S. Singhal, P. R. Kulkarni:
Starch-based spherical aggregates: Screening of small
our data. granules sized starches for entrapment of a model flavoring
compound, vanillin. Carbohydr. Polym. 2003, 53, 45–51.
[11] D. E. Pszczola: Speciality grains – What’s beyond the ho-
4 Conclusions rizon. Food Technol. 1998, 52, 94–102.
[12] O. Paredes-Lopez, M. L. Schevenin, D. Hernandez-Lopez,
Amaranth has been used both as vegetable and as grain, A. Carabez-Trejo: Amaranth starch – Isolation and partial
characterization. Starch/Stärke 1989, 41, 205–207.
depending on regional or cultural differences in the world.
[13] A. C. Resio, R. J. Aguerre, C. Suarez: Analysis of the sorp-
Currently, most grain amaranth is being experimentally tional characteristics of amaranth starch. J. Food Eng. 1999,
grown in Korea, thus, this paper could be used to promote 42, 51–57.
public attention for usage of domestically harvested grain [14] J. H. Lee, S. R. Kim, J. Y. Song, M. S. Shin: Comparison of
amaranth as a basic information for practical application physicochemical properties of amaranth starch with other
waxy cereal starches. Korean J. Food Sci. Technol. 1999,
in various foods. Like waxy cereals, amaranth is a gluti-
31, 614–618.
nous starchy grain, which meana that it could partially
[15] C. R. Choi, H. J. Choi, S. R. Kim, J. H. Lee, M. S. Shin:
replace cereal flours in conventional Korean products. Comparison of characteristics of amaranth starches iso-
Therefore, more researches are required in the fields of lated from five cultivars grown in Korea. Korean J. Food Sci.
amaranth species and of compositional properties, Technol. 2000, 32, 252–257.
especially in native and modified starches, for the projec- [16] T. Beta, H. Corke: Genetic and environmental variation in
sorghum starch properties. J. Cereal Sci. 2001, 34, 261–
tion on consumer markets. 268.
[17] P. Yang, P. A. Seib: Low-input wet-milling of grain sorghum
for readily accessible starch and animal feed. Cereal Chem.
1995, 72, 498–503.
Acknowledgements
[18] M. G. Malleshi, H. S. R. Desikacher, R. N. Tharanathan:
We would like to thank Dr. Jae Hack Lee, Korean Plant Physicochemical properties of native and malted finger
millet, pearl millet and foxtail millet starches. Starch/Stärke
Resource Institute (Ilsan, Korea) for donating grain ama- 1986, 38, 202–205.
ranth. [19] A. Beleia, E. Varriano-Marston, R. C. Hoseny: Characteriza-
tion of starch from pearl millets. Cereal Chem. 1980, 57,
300–303.
[20] Association of Official Analytical Chemist: Official Methods
References of Analysis, 15th ed., Washington, D.C., 1990.
[1] R. A. Teutonico, D. Knorr: Amaranth: Composition, proper- [21] P. C. Williams, F. D. Kuzina, I. Hlynka: A rapid colorimetric
ties, and applications of a rediscovered food crop. Food procedure for estimating the amylose content of starches
Technol, 1985, 39, 49–60. and flours. Cereal Chem. 1970, 47, 411–420.
[2] E. A. Tosi, E. R. H. Lucero, H. Masciarelli: Dietary fiber [22] D. C. Medcalf, K. A. Gilles: Wheat starch I. Comparison of
obtained from amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) grain by dif- physicochemical properties. Cereal Chem. 1965, 42, 558–
ferential milling. Food Chem. 2001, 73, 441–443. 568.
[3] J. T. Williams, D. Brenner: Grain amaranth (Amaranthus spe- [23] E. M. Montgomery, F. R. Senti: Separation of amylose from
cies), in Cereals and Pseudocereals (Ed. J. T. Williams) amylopectin of starch by extraction- sedimentation proce-
Chapman and Hall, London, 1995. dure. J. Polym. Sci. 1958, 28, 1–9.

 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.starch-journal.de

Starch/Stärke 56 (2004) 469–477
[24] T. J. Schoch: Swelling power and solubility of granular
starches, in Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry (Ed. R. L.
Whistler), Academic Press, New York, NY, 1964.
[25] M. Dubois, K. A. Gilles, J. K. Hamilton, P. A. Robert, F. Smith:
Colorimetric method for determination of sugar and related
substances. Anal. Chem. 1956, 28, 350–356.
[26] AACC, Approved Methods of American Association of Ce-
real Chemist, 10th ed., St. Paul, MN, 2000.
[27] J. Zhao, R. Whistler: Isolation and characterization of starch
from amaranth flour. Cereal Chem. 1994, 71, 392–393.
[28] W. M. Breene: Food uses of grain amaranth. Cereal Foods
World 1991, 36, 426–430.
[29] H. Sun, D. Wiesenborn, P. Rayas-Duarte, A. Mohamed, K.
Hagen: Bench-scale processing of amaranth seed for oil. J.
Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 1995, 72, 1551–1555.
[30] A. Jorge, H. D. Moheno-Perez, S. O. Almeida-Dominguez, S.
Serna-Saldivar, N. L. Monterrey: Effect of fiber degrading
enzymes on wet milling and starch properties of different
types of sorghum and maize. Starch/Stärke 1999, 51, 16–20.
[31] O. Parades-Lopez: Amaranth carbohydrate, in Amaranth
Biology, Chemistry and Technology (Ed. O. Parades-Lopez)
CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fl., 1994.
[32] J.-Y. Li, A.-I. Yeh: Relationship between thermal, rheological
characteristics and swelling power for various starches.
J.Food Eng. 2001, 50, 141–148.
[33] K. C. Huber, J. N. BeMiller: Channels of maize and sorghum
starch granules. Carbohydr. Polym. 2000, 41, 269–276.
[34] M. H. Ong, J. M. V. Blanshard: The significance of starch
polymorphism in commercially produced parboiled rice.
Starch/Stärke 1995, 47, 7–13.
[35] N. S. Kim, H. M. Seog, Y. J. Nam: Physicochemical proper-
ties of domestic millet starches. Korean J. Food Sci. Tech-
nol. 1987, 19, 245–249.
[36] R. Becker, E. L. Wheeler, K. Lorenz, A. E. Stafford, O. K.
Grosjean, A. A. Betschart, R. M. Saunders: A compositional
study of amaranth grain. J. Food Sci. 1981, 46, 1175–1180.
 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Properties of Korean Amaranth Starch 477
[37] E. Perez, Y. A. Bahnassey, W. M. Breene: Some chemical,
physical and functional properties of native and modified
starches of Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus
cruentus. Starch/Stärke 1993, 45, 215–220.
[38] K. Lorenz, F. Collins, Quinoa starch – Physicochemical
properties and functional characteristics. Starch/Stärke
1990, 42, 81–86.
[39] R. M. Saunders, R. Becker: Amaranthus: A potential food
and feed resource, in Advances in Cereal Science and
Technology, Vol. 6 (Ed. Y. Pomeranz) AACC, St. Paul, MN,
1984.
[40] M. Carcea, R. Cubadda, R. Acquistucci: Physicochemical
and rheological characterization of sorghum starch. J. Food
Sci. 1992, 57, 1024–1025.
[41] R. F. Tester, W. R. Morrison: Swelling and gelatinization of
cereal starches. I. Effects of amylopectin, amylose and
lipids. Cereal Chem. 1990, 67, 551–557.
[42] B. O. Juliano, G. M. Bautistra, J. C. Lugay, A. C. Reyes:
Studies on the physicochemical properties of rice. J. Agri.
Food Chem. 1964, 12, 131–138.
[43] B. H. Song, S. K. Kim, K. H. Lee, Y. R. Pyun, S. Y. Lee: Vis-
cometric properties of waxy rice starches. Korean J. Food
Sci. Technol. 1985, 17, 107–112.
[44] K. Leelarathi, D. Indrani, J. S. Sidhu: Amylograph pasting
behavior of cereal and tuber starches. Starch/Stärke 1987,
39, 378–381.
[45] K. J. Goering, R. Eslick, B. W. DeHaas: Barley starch V. A
comparison of the properties of waxy compana barley
starch with the starches of its parents. Cereal Chem. 1973,
50, 322–328.
[46] C. G. Biliaderis, C. M. Page, C. M. Maurice, B. O. Juliano:
Thermal characterization of rice starches. J. Agric. Food
Chem. 1986, 34, 6–24.
(Received: December 4, 2003)
(Revised: June 11, 2004)
(Accepted: June 18, 2004)
www.starch-journal.de