Starch structure-property relations in Australian wild rices compared to domesticated rices.

There are many genetic differences between Australian wild rices (AWRs) and domesticated rices (DRs), causing differences in starch molecular structure and starch-related functional properties; these are examined here for polished AWRs and polished DRs. Starch structural parameters for amylopectin and amylose were obtained using size-exclusion chromatography, with and without enzymatic debranching. Thermal properties of starch, in-vitro digestibility and texture of three AWRs were measured and compared to those of typical DRs. The results showed that AWR starches had (a) higher amylose content than most DRs, resulting in a higher gelatinization temperature, (b) fewer amylopectin short chains, causing a higher gelatinization enthalpy, and (c) more amylose shorter chains and more amylopectin longer chains, both causing a slower in-vitro digestion rate. The textural characteristics of AWRs are not significantly different from those of DRs. These findings suggest that AWRs are a potential source of nutritionally-desirable but palatable slowly-digestible starch.