Effects of Different Isolation Media on Structural and Functional Properties of Starches from Root Tubers of Purple, Yellow and White Sweet Potatoes.

Different-colored sweet potatoes have different contents of pigments and phenolic compounds in their root tubers, which influence the isolation of starch. It is important to justify the identification of the most suitable isolation medium of starch from different colored root tubers. In this study, starches were isolated from root tubers of purple, yellow and white sweet potatoes using four different extraction media, including H₂O, 0.5% Na₂S₂O₅, 0.2% NaOH, and both 0.5% Na₂S₂O₅ and 0.2% NaOH. Their structural and functional properties were investigated and compared among different extraction media. The results showed that the granule size, apparent amylose content, lamellar peak intensity, thermal properties, and pasting properties were different among different-colored sweet potatoes due to their different genotype backgrounds. The four extraction media had no significant effects on starch structural properties, including apparent amylose content, crystalline structure, ordered degree, and lamellar peak intensity, except that the NaOH and Na₂S₂O₅ treatment were able to increase the whiteness of purple and yellow sweet potato starches. The different extraction media had some effects on starch functional properties, including thermal properties, swelling power, water solubility, and pasting properties. The above results indicated that the H₂O was the most suitable extraction medium to simply and fast isolate starch from root tubers of different-colored sweet potatoes.