Water Binding Capacity of Commercial Produced Native and Modified Starches

The water binding capacities of five cereal and three tuberous starches, as well as fourteen modified wheat starches were determined using a Differential Scanning Calorimetry technique. Of the native starches, the tuberous ones had the highest moisture binding capacities. The influence of amylose/amylopectin ratio on water binding capacity was examined using waxy maize, normal maize and high amylose maize starches and increases in amylose level were found to result in reduced water binding. Chemical modification caused a reduction in the water binding capacity of wheat starch presumably as a result of blocking water binding sites on the starch molecules. Pregelatinized wheat starch showed a higher water binding capacity than wheat starch as a consequence of the disruption of the internal structure of the granule.