Chemical, morphological and functional properties of Brazilian jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.) seeds starch

Starches used in food industry are extracted from roots, tubers and cereals. Seeds of jackfruit are abundant and contain high amounts of starch. They are discarded during the fruit processing or consumption and can be an alternative source of starch. The starch was extract from the jackfruit seeds and characterised to chemical, morphological and functional properties. Soft and hard jackfruit seeds showed starch content of 92.8% and 94.5%, respectively. Starch granules showed round and bell shape and some irregular cuts on their surface with type-A crystallinity pattern, similar to cereals starches. The swelling power and solubility of jackfruit starch increased with increasing temperature, showing opaque pastes. The soft seeds starch showed initial and final gelatinisation temperature of 36 degrees C and 56 degrees C, respectively; while hard seeds starch presented initial gelatinisation at 40 degrees C and final at 61 degrees C. These results suggest that the Brazilian jackfruit seeds starches could be used in food products. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.