2001 AACC Annual Meeting Charlotte, North Carolina October 14-18, 2001 Charlotte Convention Center

Atriplex hortensis belongs to the same Chenopodiaceae family as Chenopodium quinoa. Although high in nutritional value, growing restraints and bitter saponins limit quinoa as an acceptable and economical food source. Atriplex represents a potential alternative to quinoa due to its saponin-free nature, ability to thrive in a wide range of environments, and high protein and starch contents. As starch is the major constituent of atriplex seeds, an understanding of its composition and properties is necessary to assess potential use in food products. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize the starch of Atriplex hortensis. Starch was isolated from seeds, following a 12-hour soaking in dilute alkaline solution, using a series of grinding, screening, centrifugation, and washing steps. Isolated starch viewed by Scanning Electron Microscopy possessed smooth surfaced, polygonal-shaped granules of approximately 1-micron diameter. Granules displayed a typical A-type crystalline arrangement as determined by X-ray Powder Diffractometry with an amylose content of 21.2% according to colorimetric measurement. Differential Scanning Calorimetry revealed a gelatinization temperature range of 59.0-74.4°C and a gelatinization enthalpy of 12.1 J/g. Pasting profiles from Rapid Visco Analysis indicated a reduced peak paste viscosity for atriplex starch compared to that of quinoa and corn starch.