. Propriedades térmicas, reológicas e estruturais do amido de mandioca modificado com ácidos lático e acético e seco sob diferentes condições

Abstract

Starch is one of the most important sources of carbohydrate reserves in plants and it is also the main source of these compounds in the human diet, due to its abundance in nature. In addition to its nutritional properties, it is used as a thickener, and for texturising and gelling, among other functions. However, native starches are structurally weak and have very limited applications in industrial technologies, where modifications are necessary. Cassava starch is used as the raw material for the production of sour cassava starch (polvilho azedo), which is a handmade product that goes through a fermentation process of variable length, with much variation in its quality. Its expansion characteristics are mainly attributed to the reaction that occurs between the organic acids that are formed during fermentation through ultraviolet radiation (UV) light during solar drying. Thus, this paper seeks to analyse the modification of cassava starch with different concentrations of lactic acid, acetic acid and a combination of both, during different periods of immersion in the acid solution, and with different drying processes, with and without the action of UV radiation. The samples were investigated using the following thermoanalytical techniques: thermogravimetry (TG); derivative thermogravimetry (DTG); differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); rapid visco analysis (RVA); and x-ray diffraction powder, atomic force microscopy, non-contact method (NC-AFM). The results showed the thermal behaviour and gelatinisation temperatures; the enthalpy and pasting and structural properties were also determined. It was found that increasing concentrations of lactic acid acted more deeply in the pasting properties of the samples; there was an increase in relative crystallinity, a large variation in average diameter and average roughness, and there was an increase in the initial and peak temperatures of gelatinisation. An increased period of time for the sample in the acetic acid solution resulted in a decrease in gelatinisation enthalpy values, an increase in the peak viscosity; there was no affect the roughness but there was an increase in the average diameter. When a mixture of lactic and acetic acids was used, an increased period of time in the solution increased the peak gelatinisation temperature. The highest viscosity was observed in the sample that remained for 48 hours in the solution and was dried with a UV lamp. The average diameters showed no difference; a large variation was observed in the average roughness, and there was virtually no observed difference in the relative crystallinity of the samples.