Some properties of seeds and starches separated from different Indian pea cultivars

The changes in seed hardness and moisture content during storage of seeds from different pea cultivars were studied. The seed hardness values of all pea cultivars differed significantly and NDVP-12 seeds showed the highest seed hardness. Moisture contents of seeds from different pea cultivars decreased and seed hardness increased during storage. Starches were also isolated from different pea cultivars and investigated for morphological and thermal properties. The starches separated from the different pea cultivars had a granule size ranging between 31.81 and 2.72mum while the structure of starch granules varied from simple to complex. The amylose content in pea starches varied between 26.9 and 61.5%. MA-6 pea starch showed a greater proportion of large-size granules while the other pea cultivars had small granules with complicated structures. The transition temperatures, enthalpies of gelatinization (DeltaH(gel)), peak height indices (PHI) and range (R) of starches separated from different pea cultivars were determined using differential scanning calorimetery. The DeltaH(gel) and PHI were highest for MA-6 pea starches and lowest for NDVP-12 pea starch. The value of R was highest for NDVP-12 pea starch but lowest for MA-6 pea starch. The turbidities of gelatinized aqueous starch suspensions, from all pea cultivars, increased with increase in storage period; however, increase was highest in MA-6 pea starch. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.