Abstract
1. Starch granules were prepared from mature kernels of six types (A-F) of foxtail millet (Setaria italica Beauv.) which were collected in different places of Asia and grown in the field of Plant Germ-plasm Institute, Kyoto University. The amylose content of A, B, C, D, E, and F were 31, 31, 22, 14, 0, and 0%, respectively, measured by an enzymatic and chromatographic method. Gelatinization temperatures of onset, peak and conclusion, and heats of gelatinization measured by differential scanning calorimetry were in the ranges of 6469, 70-77 and 7684°C, and 10.18 J/g, respectively. Foxtail millet starch granules were digested by amylase 2-3 times faster than maize starch granules. Waxy starch granules tended to be digested faster than non-waxy starch granules.2. Highly significant positive correlation was observed between blue value (absorbance at 680 nm) and Amax (wavelength at the maximum absorbance) obtained from absorption curves of starch-iodine complexes. Blue value was also positively correlated with fraction I measured by the enzymatic and chromatographic methods and negatively with heat of gelatinization.
