The physical properties and enzymatic digestibility of acetylated starches prepared in the laboratory from high amylose (Hi-Maize(TM), 66% amylose; and GELOSE 50, 47% amylose), waxy (MAZACA 3401X, 3.3% amylose), and normal (22.4% amylose) maize starches provided by Starch Australasia Limited were studied. Acetylation decreased temperature at peak viscosity, while slightly increasing peak viscosity compared to the matching unmodified starch. It increased cool paste viscosity except in the case of normal starch. All the acetylated starches had lower onset temperature (T-o,), intermediate temperature (T-p,), completion temperature (T-c,) sind endothermic energy (Delta H) than their unmodified starches, but acetylation increased swelling power and solubility. After acetylation, the hardness of all the starch gels decreased; adhesiveness decreased and springiness increased except for waxy starch where it was the reverse; cohesiveness increased in each case. Acetylation increased the clarity of all the starches, except for waxy which showed a decrease. Acetylation increased the enzymatic digestibility compared to the unmodified starches. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
