The influence of time and conditions of harvest on the functional behaviour of cassava starch - a proton NMR relaxation study

The extent of irrigation of crops in the field not only affects crop yield but also the functionality of the harvested product. This irrigation effect severely affects the processing response of starch harvested from Cassava and leads to industrial quality control problems. In this paper we show how the NMR transverse proton relaxation spectrum is a sensitive probe of the effect of irrigation on cassava starch functionality. The results suggest that increased irrigation results in a looser packing of the amylose and amylopectin chains in the cassava starch granule that facilitates their plasticization and gelatinization. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.