ABSTRACT:
Starch gelatinization is a process associated with the disruption of starch granular structure causing starch molecules to disperse in water. This study was designed to study Aponogeton natans Linn. native and acetylated modified tuber starch granules as they were heated in water, and their resulting morphological traits. Aponogeton natans Linn. tuber starch in 100 ml of distilled water were treated at specific temperatures (ranging from 35°C to 90°C at 5°C increments) for 30 min in 250 mL conical flasks in a water bath.The results indicate that starch gelatinization is a more complex process than the previously suggested order-to-disorder transition. The energy absorbed by the granules facilitates the rearrangement or formation of new bonds among molecules prior to the temperatures normally associated with the melting of amylopectin crystallites during gelatinization. It is also evident that amylose plays an important role during the initial stages of corn starch gelatinization.