Physicochemical, thermal, and pasting properties of flours and starches of eight Brazilian maize landraces (Zea mays L.)

Both genetic and environmental factors create significant variation in the amount and quality of maize landrace constituents. Details on the flours and starch characteristics have not been fully investigated. The physicochemical, pasting and thermal properties of 8 promising cultivars were assessed in this study and those properties were correlated. Higher values of swelling and solubility (RJ - 13.14%; 14.39%), lipid content (MG - 5.53%), WBC (PR - 18.89%), and amylose content (PR - 27.43%) were found for those genotypes. Lower onset temperatures of gelatinization (To) were observed for RX-F1 (66.1 degrees C) as RX-F1 (68.7 degrees C) genotype showed the lower pasting temperatures. A wide range of viscosity values was found among the maize landraces (MG-F0, 343 mPa s and RJ-F1, 175 mPa s) as well as for the retrogradation (R8C-F1, 796 mPa s and RX-F1, 22 mPa s). ATR-FTIR spectroscopy revealed amylose, amylopectin, lipids, and proteins as major flours constituents and their differences were discriminated by PCA analysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.