Study of Thermal and Structural Properties of Starch Granules from Different Maize Genotypes

The thermal and structural properties of starch granules of four maize genotypes (Palomero Toluqueño native maize, HS-2 commercial hybrid, L3-Q2 M09 experimental hybrid and Cacahuacintle native maize) were studied. By using adiabatic scanning calorimetry (ASC), the specific heat capacity (cp(T)) of these samples was obtained. Also, by integration of the area under the cp(T) curves, the enthalpy for the starch gelatinization was determined, from which the percentage of gelatinized starch granules was obtained as a function of the temperature. From the X-ray diffraction patterns of the starch granules, the degree of crystallinity of the samples was derived. The average size of the starch granules, for the different maize genotypes, was calculated from the images obtained by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). We found a correlation between the enthalpy of gelatinization and the average size of starch granules, and also between the degree of crystallinity and the average size of the starch granules.