Physicochemical properties of A- and B-starch granules isolated from hard red and soft red winter wheat.

Large A- and small B-starch granules separated from hard red and soft red winter wheat grains were investigated for their morphological, structural, and physicochemical properties. A-granules displayed a disk or lenticular shape, and B-granules showed a spherical or polygonal shape according to SEM. XRD analysis showed that both A- and B-granules had A-type crystallinity. A-granules contained a higher amount of amylose and a lower protein content and amylopectin/amylose ratio than B-granules. A-type granules exhibited a higher hydrolysis extent and swelling power and a lower iodine affinity than did B-granules. A-granules showed a higher peak, trough, breakdown and final viscosity, and gelatinization enthalpy than did B-granules, while B-granules exhibited a higher gelatinization temperature. The study demonstrated that the A- and B-granules separated from both hard red and soft red winter wheat grains exhibited a similar structure and very different physicochemical properties.