Structural Change of Potato Starch Granule with Amylase Hydrolysis

Abstract

Potato starch was hydrolyzed by α-amylase from Bacillus sp. to obtain porous starch as an encapsulant powder. The surface structure becomes perforated and the inside porous, whereby the internal space of the granule forms a hollow, capsule-like space. It was found that porous starch was capable to adsorb a number of materials, i.e., liquids such as water, oils, and ethanol as well as gaseous flavor compounds. Porous starch was produced by α-amylase digestion of freeze-dried potato starch. Structure change of potato starch was observed with confocal lazer scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The degree of starch hydrolysis could be correlated with Avrami equation.