Comparative analysis of selected physicochemical properties of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), maize, wheat and potato starch

A favourable protein amino acid profile and the absence of gluten, being a strong allergen, are just some of the advantages of the quinoa. Besides to protein, other important component of quinoa seeds of is starch. This polysaccharide, due to its origin, can also have interesting properties. The aim of the study was to compare starch isolated from the Faro cultivar of quinoa grown in Poland with commercial starches of various botanical origins (potato, wheat and maize). The analysis included the colour, paste clarity and thermodynamic and rheological pasting properties of the starches. The research has demonstrated that the paste clarity of quinoa starch was 1.26%, which means that the paste was the cloudiest, of all those tasted. Quinoa starch differed from the other starches in terms of thermodynamic and rheological pasting characteristics. It had the lowest temperature at the onset of transition (T-o) and the lowest transition enthalpy Delta H-G. Additionally, quinoa starch demonstrated the lowest pasting temperature and the paste had the highest final viscosity (FV). The highest gelatinization temperature of was noted for maize starch, whose paste had the lowest viscosity.