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Koushik's group work on starch structure and properties relationships.
V. VAMADEVAN (1), E. Bertoft (1), Z. Fan (1), F. Chauhan (1), R. Waduge (1), K. Nantanga (1), D. Kalinga (1), G. Annor (1), G. Peymanpour (1), J. Gayin (1), A. Goldstein (1). (1) University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

Architecture of starch granule and its influence on the functional and nutritional properties has been one of the main focuses of Koushik’s research team. Although numerous studies have been conducted on starch structure, the detail structure of starch, including structural connections between different levels of order, nature of branching pattern, organization of chains in amylopectin, formation of growth rings, structure of amorphous growth ring and hilum region are not yet well understood. Moreover, there is a gap in our ability to predict the functional and nutritional properties of starches from the knowledge of the starch structure. In order to deepen the knowledge base with respect to the granular architecture, starches from different botanical sources, Arabidopsis leaf, maize and barley mutants, immature grain or developing endosperm of wheat, barley subjected to diurnal variation were investigated. Different structural levels of starch granule were examined by advance imaging techniques including atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Different strategies including hydrothermal treatment (gelatinization, annealing and heat-moisture treatment), enzymatic modification and iodine treatment and different analytical techniques such as gel permeation chromatography, high performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to explore the molecular structure and glucan chain organization. The evolution of molecular structures of cooked starch through the digestion process, the influence of processing conditions on hydrolysis rate and glycemic index and hypoglycemic properties of millet and rice starches were also investigated. The findings of these studies will be discussed.

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