Study of the physicochemical and functional characterization of quinoa and kañiwa starches

The objective of this work was to study the physico-chemical and functional properties of starch isolated from different quinoa varieties and kañiwa ecotypes regarding their possible uses in cereals-derived food. Four ecotypes of kañiwa and three varieties of quinoa were analyzed. Starch isolation from quinoa and kañiwa flour was carried out by combining two extraction procedures. Quinoa and kañiwa isolated starches had similar chemical composition but protein, lipid, and fiber content was lower for quinoa than kañiwa starches. The amylose content varied from 9.30 to 8.35% for quinoa and from 17.44 to 10.70% for kañiwa starches. Significant differences in pasting properties were observed among quinoa varieties and kañiwa ecotypes, quinoa starches had higher peak and final viscosity and lower setback than kañiwa. Amylose content correlated negatively with peak viscosity and positively with setback. Kañiwa starches yielded higher firmness starch pastes than quinoa starches. No differences in starch granule morphology between quinoa and kañiwa were observed, both species showed polygonal granules. However, granules from quinoa were larger (≈2.53 µm) than kañiwa granules (≈1.45 µm). Differences in granule size, amylose content, pasting and thermal properties among quinoa and kañiwa provide new starch types with a wide range of possibilities for food applications.