J Sci Food Agric 1991, 57, 45949 1

Physicochemical Properties of Sweet Potato Starch

S J Tian," J E Rickardb and J M V Blanshard"*

Department of Applied Biochemistry and Food Science, University of Nottingham,
School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LEI2 5RD, UK
Natural Resources Institute, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent
ME4 4TB, UK

(Received 13 August 1991; revised version received 23 August 1991;

accepted 29 August 1991)

ABSTRACT

Tropical root crops, of which the sweet potato is an important representative,

constitute an underexploited resource of developing countries. They can be
used as food for both human and animal consumption and their starch is a
source of industrial raw material. This review will consider recent reports
on sweet potatoes, the physicochemical properties of their starches in
comparison with other starches, and the possible causes of variation in these
characteristics.

Key words: Sweet potato, starch, physicochemical properties, variety,

environment.

INTRODUCTION

It has been estimated that sweet potato (Zpomoea spp) production in developing
countries exceeds 133000 metric tonnes per annum, representing over 34% of all
roots and tubers cultivated in these regions (FA0 1990).
The roots and foliage of the plant are important commodities to small-scale
farmers in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Over 90% of the production in
developing countries is in Asia, especially China, where the crop has been estimated
to provide up to 10% and 5% respectively of the intakes of calories and protein.
In certain regions of Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, the
sweet potato is important as a staple calorie source.
Root crops have traditionally been grown as subsistence crops because they are
able to tolerate marginal land conditions (Plucknett 1984).
Sweet potatoes can be boiled, steamed, baked, fried, chipped, candied, canned,
frozen, made into flour and starch or processed into a number of products (Chadha
and Dakshinamurthy 1965; Palomer et a1 1981; Chandra 1984; Truong Van Den
*To whom correspondence should be addressed.
459
J Sci Food Agric 0022-5142/91/%03.500 SCI, 1991. Printed in Great Britain
460 S J Tian, J E Rickard, J M V Blanshard

1985; Takeda et a1 1986a). In a number of provinces in China, sweet potato starch

is important for the production of noodles. Sweet potatoes are used as animal feed
in China and the USA and for the manufacture of industrial starch in Japan (Kay
1973). In Japan, where there is less competition from corn starch, sweet potato
starch is used in the textile and paper industries, for cosmetics, as an insulating
material and for adhesives (Chadha and Dakshinamurthy 1965).
The uses of sweet potato starch are primarily determined by its physicochemical
properties. A number of studies on the distinctive properties of sweet potato starch
have been undertaken in the last decade. The objective of this paper is to review
the present knowledge on starch derived from this crop.

STARCH ISOLATION

Delays before processing sweet potatoes may result in the accumulation of sucrose
and reducing sugars at the expense of starch (Heinze and Appleman 1943). Many
of the storage experiments with sweet potato and other crops have been done at
temperatures well below those experienced in developing countries where refrigera-
tion is too expensive (Baba et a1 (1987) studied sweet potatoes at 13°C) and for
longer lengths of time than is possible in a tropical climate (Bouwkamp (1985)
studied sweet potatoes stored for 6 months). The severity of the problem can be
seen from the case of cassava where the starch decreased from 81 to 70% of the
dry weight after storage for only 6 days at 26-27°C (Osunsami et a1 1989).
Delays between shredding and starch extraction in sweet potatoes or the roots
may lead to the synthesis of toxic compounds such as the alkaloid ipomeamarone,
and the derived starch may become inedible and hazardous (Jain et a1 1951). The
method of starch isolation can affect both the physicochemical properties of the
starch and the levels of non-starch components, which in turn may also affect the
physicochemical properties of the starch indirectly (Lii and Chang 1978; Takeda
et a1 1988).

PROXIMATE ANALYSIS

A wide variation in the starch content of sweet potato roots has been demonstrated
by many authors, one reporting a range of 8-29% (Anon 1968) and another
6.9-30.7% (Liu et a1 1985).
The proximate compositions of the non-starch components associated with
sweet potato starch derived from different varieties and sources are given in
Table 1. Sweet potato starches contain amounts of phosphorus similar to those in
cassava (Manihot esculenta) starch (Rickard et a1 1991) but both of these are less
than that in Irish potato (Solunum tuberosum: Hizukuri 1969). Madamba et a1
(1975) found a wide range (9-22mg per 1008) of phosphate contents among
varieties of sweet potato starch. Sweet potato amylose contains less phosphate
(3-6pgg-') than the amylopectin (1 17-144pgg-') (Takeda et a1 1986a).
Phosphate is believed to be an important factor in determining the granular
 TABLE 1
Proximate composition of isolated starch b

Variety Moisture Ash Fibre Crude Crude Total Starch

g
Reference F:
(gkg-') (gkg-') (gkg-') protein lipid phosphorus (gkg-' ) iF
3
kkg-') (gkg-') kkg-') ;j.
5
Jaune America 0.8 0.7 5- 1 2.6 987.0 Delpeuch et a1 1978, 1979 2
Blanche ex Menjo 1-0 1-3 5.4 6.0 988.0 s
Rouge ex Nkolbisson 1.O 1.8 4.8 0-6 980.0 25
Tai-Non 31 139.0 2.6 0.5 1.3 0.19 Lii and Chang 1978 B
Tai-Non 17 170.0 5.1 1.o 2.0
Tai-Non 14 150.0 3.5 0.8 1-8
x
2
10.3 7.2 4.3 El Saadany et a1 1980 B
Suwon 147 137.8 1.2 1.7 Shin and Ahn 1983 s
(N = 0.27) 0.53 e2s.
2.0 0.83
(N = 0.32)
Koganesegan - - 0.4 6* 135** Takeda et al 1986a
(N = 0.06) 75***
Minamiyutaka - - 0.5 5* 144**
(N = 0.08) go***
Norin-2 - - 0.5 3* 117**
(N = 0.08) 81***
Bouwkamp 1985
1-4 Madamba et a1 1975
- 1.9
Commercial sweet 132.0 3.9 0.7 856.0 Chadha and Dakshinamurthy
potato starch 1965
113.0 12.8 4.8 3.3 835.0 Quadrat-I-Khuda and De
1962
*Amylose x ** = Amylopectin organic phosphorus x lo-'. *** = Amylopectin Glu 6P phosphorus bound at C6 of the glucosyl 5
residue x
N = Nitrogen content.
 TABLE 2
Granular shape, size and X-ray diffraction pattern of sweet potato starch
Variety Method" Sizeb Shape X-ray pattern Reference
w (crystallinity)

Suwon 147 M 14-30 Round polygonal Shin and Ahn 1983

Chunmi M 16-34 Round polygonal Shin and Ahn 1983
- M - - Gallant et a1 1982
- M (12) Polygonal El Saadany et a1 1980
- S (21.5) - Rasper 1971
- C (20.6) - Rasper 1971
Eunmi M 5-24 (1 1.9) Round polygonal Seog er a1 1987
Jinmi M 5-32 (10.4) Polygonal Seog et a1 1987
Shinmi M 2-42 (10.2) Round polygonal Seog et a1 1987
Sunmi M 5-35 (1 3.2) Round polygonal Seog et a1 1987
Hongmi M 3-28 (1 1.6) Round polygonal Seog et a1 1987
Hwangmi M 3-27 (1 1.8) Round polygonal Seog et a1 1987
- M 4-40 - Delpeuch et a1 1978
- M 10-14 Lii and Chang 1978
- - - Hizukuri 1969
Minamiyutaka - - Takeda et a1 1986a
Koganesengan - - Takeda et a1 1986a
Norin 2 - - Takeda et a1 1986a
Tamayutaka M (16.4) - Shiotahi et a1 1991
Minamiyutaka M (13.8) - Shiotahi et a/ 1991
- - - Oval spherical Liu and Liang 1983
- - - - Chiang and Chen 1988
- - - Round polygonal Song et a1 1987
- - - - Nikuni et a1 1963
- M 4-43 Polygonal Bouwkamp 1985
Oval round
Non-aggregated
- M 2-26 - Barham and Wagoner 1946
Daja M 9-38 (19.1) Non-aggregated, oval and Madamba et al 1975
SP 45 M 7-43 (21.5) polygonal Madamba et a1 1975 La
Georgia Red M 5-38 (15.2) polygonal Madamba et a1 1975
Centennial M 7-36 (15.0) polygonal Madamba et a1 1975 7
Jewel M 7-28 (12.3) polygonal Madamba et a1 1975 $-
BNAS M 4-36 (17.9) polygonal 3
Madamba et a1 1975 i;.
Gem M (80) Martin and Deshpande 1985 $
Miguela M (58) Martin and Deshpande 1985
Trompo Negro M (57) Martin and Deshpande 1985 2
Frita M (60) Martin and Deshpande 1985 5'
Spud M (62) Martin and Deshpande 1985 9
Papota M (58) Martin and Deshpande 1985 2
Ninety-nine M (59) Martin and Deshpande 1985 2

'Method C Coulter counter, M microscope, S sedimentation.

* Range (mean).
Change with heat moisture treatment.
dSoil temperature 28-3OoC = A; 23OC = C; 18OC = C (nearer B).
464 S J Tian. J E Rickard, J M V Blanshard

strength (by forming cross-linkages) in Irish potato and Dioscorea rotundata

starches. However, in cassava there appears to be no correlation between
phosphate and granular strength (Moorthy and Ramanujam 1986).

GRANULAR CHARACTERISTICS
Size and shape
The size of the starch granules may be estimated by the rate of sedimentation, by
the use of an instrument such as a Coulter counter or by microscopic analysis. The
sizes and shapes of starch granules from sweet potato are described in Table 2.
Madamba et af (1975) found significant differences among all but two sweet potato
varieties (Fig 1). Sweet potato granules are of a similar size to those of cassava and
maize but are smaller than those of potato which also have a larger range of
granular size (Dreher and Berry 1983).
According to Rasper (1971), particle size, including size distribution, is one of
the characteristics that most markedly affects the functional properties of starch
granules. Smaller granules are reported to have both higher solubility and water
absorption capacity (Goering and Dehaas 1972). In wheat it has been shown that
smaller granules are more digestible and have a lower amylose content (Morrison
and Gadan 1987). Bouwkamp (1985) reported a negative correlation among sweet

Granule size ( pm)

Georgia Red; -
Fig. 1. Frequency curves of the granule sizes of starch of six sweet potato varieties grown in the
Philippines (after Madamba e? a1 1975). Key to varieties: .cC Jewel; -C&U Centennial; -x-x-
BNAS; DAJA; -*-*- SP45.
Physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch 465

potato cultivars between particle size and susceptibility to a-amylase and acid
degradation.
Crystalline structure
The crystalline nature of a starch granule can be defined by the position of the
X-ray diffraction peaks (Zobel 1988). Hizukuri (1969) demonstrated that mixtures
of A- and B-type starches produced intermediate patterns (C-type). C-type patterns
can be further divided into C, ,C, and Cbdepending on whether the pattern is closer
to A or to B. Levels of crystallinity in granular starch can be determined by
separating and integrating the areas under the crystalline X-ray diffraction peaks
(Zobel 1988).
Sweet potato starch has a variable X-ray pattern between C and A, in contrast
to cereal starches such as wheat and corn which have A-type, and potato which has
a B-type pattern (Zobel 1988). Some of the results reported for sweet potatoes are
given in Table 2 and Fig 2.
Type B starches tend to have lower levels of crystallinity (15-28%) and lower
gelatinisation temperatures. Type A starches tend to have higher levels of crystal-
linity (33-45%) and higher gelatinisation temperatures. With type A starches the
gelatinisation temperatures increase with increasing amylose content, but in type
B starches the amylose content appears to have no effect on gelatinisation tem-
perature (Zobel 1988).
Amylose content
There are four main techniques for determining the amylose content of starch:
potentiometric titration (Bates et af 1943; Banks et a1 1974), amperometric titration
(Larson et a1 1953), spectrophotometric determination of the blue colour intensity
of iodine complexes (McCready and Hassid 1943) and the sorption of Congo Red

8 12 16 20 24 2b% Fig. 2. An X-ray diffractogram of starch of sweet

Diffraction angle(28) potato variety TN57 (after Chiang et al 1988).
466 S J Tian. J E Rickard, J M V Blanshard

TABLE 3
Amylose content of sweet potato starch

Variety Amylose % Method Reference

Allgold 26.3 a Hammett and Berrentin 1961
Porto Rico 23.2 a Hammett and Berrentin 1961
SD-17 20 b Deatherage et al 1965
- 20.4 - Chadha and Dakshinamurthy 1965
6 varieties 29.6-32.4 f Madamba et a1 1975
19 varieties 16‘1-24.4 f Madamba and San Pedro 1976
(2 seasons) (mean = 19.8)
Jaune ex America 17.8 d Delpeuch et a1 1979
Blanche ex Menjo 17.5 d Delpeuch et a1 1979
Rouge ex Nkolbisson 18.3 d Delpeuch et a1 1979
Jersey (dry mealy) 13.4 e Shen and Sterling 1981
18.7 f Shen and Sterling 1981
Garnet (moist ‘yam’) 13.6 e Shen and Sterling 1981
22.5 f Shen and Sterling 1981
22 h Watanabe et a1 1982
- 18 - Gallant et al 1982
Suwon 147 27.6 C Shin and Ahn 1982
Chunmi 23.6 C Shin and Ahn 1982
18 varieties 8‘5-17.3 C Liu and Liang 1983
C65 8.5 C Liu and Liang 1983
C65-46 13.0 C Liu and Liang 1983
C65-319 14.1 C Liu and Liang 1983
- 21.6 g Uehara 1984
C65-356 14.8 C Liu et a1 1985
Koganesengan 18.9 h Takeda et al 1986a
Minamiyutaka 17.2 h Takeda et a1 1986a
Norin 2 19.0 h Takeda et al 1986a
Gunmi 25 C Seog et a1 1987
Junmi 25 C Seog et a1 1987

(Schoch 1964b). Sweet potato starch amylose content has been evaluated by using
these techniques, and values between 8.5 and 38% have been reported (Table 3).
In general, sweet potato can have a n amylose content slightly higher than that
of cassava but less than that of wheat, maize or potato (Bushuk and Biliaderis
1989; Rickard et a1 1991). However, Madamba et al(1975) working on six varieties
of sweet potatoes from the Philippines found that the amylose content of sweet
potato was lower than that of other root crops including cassava. From Table 3
it is evident that there is a large variation in amylose content.
Molecular weight of constituent polymers
Weight-average molecular weights can be determined using low-angle laser light-
scattering techniques (Hizukuri and Tagaki 1984) and by ultracentrifugation
(Kainuma 1988). Molecular weights can also be estimated from the total car-
bohydrate content (Dubois et a1 1956) and the number of end groups, and these
are necessarily number-average molecular weights. The number of reducing end
groups can be measured by photometry, periodate oxidation, polarimetry,
Physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch 461

TABLE 3 Continued

Variety Amylose % Method Reference

Shinmi 27 C Seog e t a1 1987

Sunmi 27 C Seog et a1 1987
Hongmi 28 C Seog e t a1 1987
Hwangmi 26 C Seog e t a1 1987
TN 57 22.8 b Chiang and Chen 1988
TN 66 21.1 b Chiang and Chen 1988
TN 68 19.4 b Chiang and Chen 1988
Gem 38 h Martin and Deshpande 1985
Miguela 28 h Martin and Deshpande 1985
Trompo Negro 27 h Martin and Deshpande 1985
Frita 29 h Martin and Deshpande 1985
Spud 30 h Martin and Deshpande 1985
Papota 28 h Martin and Deshpande 1985
Ninety-nine 29 h Martin and Deshpande 1985
- 20 - Zobel 1988
Kagoshima* 1 21.9 C Kitada et a1 1988
Kagoshima* 2 22.0 C Kitada et a1 1988
Chiba* 21.5 C Kitada et a1 1988
Tamayutaka 22 i Shiotahi et a1 1991
Minamiyutaka 25 i Shiotahi et af 1991
28.4 f Del Rosario and Pontiveros 1983
Wheat 29.9 f Del Rosario and Pontiveros 1983
Cassava 25.1 f Del Rosario and Pontiveros 1983

Methods: a, Williams e t a1 1958; b, potentiometric titration; c, blue value; d, amperometric

titration; e, HCIO,, extraction (McCready e t a1 1950); f, NaOH extraction (Juliano 1971); g,
iodine coloration using the filtrate of Sephadex G-25 column; h, iodine affinity; i, gel
filtration; * Different growth locations; - unspecified sweet potatoes.

osmometry, radiometry and enzyme analysis (Schoch 1964a; Hizukuri et a1 1981);

one of the most sensitive methods involves the reduction of ferricyanide ions (Park
and Johnson 1949; Hizukuri et a1 1981). The molecular weight and chain-length
data obtained by these methods are given in Table 4.
In amylopectin there are three chain types: C chains which have reducing ends,
B chains which are linked to two or more other chains, and A chains linked to only
one other chain by their reducing ends (Hizukuri 1985). The distribution of chain
lengths can also be determined by gel filtration or high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) following debranching with isoamylase (Hizukuri 1986;
Inouchi et a1 1987). Data on debranched and fractionated amylopectin of sweet
potato are given in Fig 3 and in Tables 5 and 6. Takeda er a1 (1986a) found a
trimodal pattern in contrast to Hizukuri (1986) who found a bimodal distribution
for sweet potato amylopectin. Takeda et a1 (1986a) found that the proportion of
fraction 1 (FI = 7%) in sweet potato was half that in potato (F1 = 14%); F3
(=22%) was similar to the value for potato (F3 = 21%), but the value for F4
(65%) was higher than that of potato (F4 = 55%). Takeda et a1 (1986a) concluded
 TABLE 4
Molecular size and chain length of sweet potato
Variety Molecular Degree of Polymerisation DPwlDPn Chain length No chain1 Reference
weight weight Number (average) molecule
(weight av) average (DPw) average (DPn) (CL)
Amylose
- 3280-4400 - Takeda et a1 1988
- - - Takeda et a1 1986b
Potato - - Takeda et a1 1986b
Cassava - - Takeda et a1 1986b
Koganesengan 4 100' 380' Takeda et al 1986a
Minamiyutaka 4400' 335' Takeda et a1 1986a
Norin 2 3400' 330' Takeda et a1 1986a
- 1 154d 130" Lii et a1 1987
Cassava 186Id 60.3' Lii et a1 1987
- 54309 - Hizukuri and Takagi 1984
Potato 6360g - Hizukuri and Takagi 1984
Amylopectin
Koganesengan - 21.3h 20.8' Takeda et a1 1986a
Minamiyukata - 22.4h 21.5' Takeda et a1 1986a
Norin 2 - 21.Sh 21.2' Takeda et a1 1986a
- - 22J El Saadany et a1 1980
HPLC.
Isoamylase hydrolysis, Park Johnson and Smith degradation (Hizukuri et a1 1981; Takeda et a1 1984).
DP/CL.
dPhenol sulphuric (Dubois et a1 1956) copper colorimetric (Nelson 1944).
Pullulanase and 'd'.
/HPLC laser light scattering.
Ferricyanide Park et a1 1949.
hSmith degradation and hydrolysis with isoamylase (Hizukuri and Osaki 1978; Suzuki et a1 1981).
'Isoamylolysis (Suzuki et a1 1981; Takeda and Hizukuri 1983).
'Periodate oxidation (Dyer 1956).
-Unspecified sweet potato.
 TABLE 5
Characterisation f the distributi n of the chain length (CL) of amylopectin in sweet pol to starch (Hizukuri 1985)

Variety CL Av Av Max FI Max F2 Boundary Mwh/Nn' Ratio of F21FI

whole CL CL CL" CL" between (weight (molar
FI F2 FI and F2 basis) basis)
~

Minamiyutaka 29 57 18 46 19 35 1.4 2.6 8

Norin 2 30 55 19 47 20 31 1.5 2-5 7

F1 comprises mostly B chains, F2 A chains - separated by HPLC.

aMaximum of the elution peak.
'Weight average molecular weight.
'Number average molecular weight.

P
Q\
W
470 S J Tian, J E Rickard, J M V Blanshard

Fig. 3. Fractionation of isoamylase debranched amylo-

pectin of sweet potato variety Koganesenganon Bio Gel 30 60 90
P30 (after Takeda ef al 1986a). Fraction number

that sweet potato has a higher proportion of A chains and short B chains than has
potato.
Sweet potato amylose appears to have more branches per amylose molecule than
that from cassava, potato, wheat or maize, and a higher molecular weight than
maize, wheat and cassava but less than potato. Takeda et a1 (1986a) suggested this
was the reason for the lower retrogradation tendency of sweet potato amylose.
Takeda et aZ(1987) also found that 70% of sweet potato amylose molecules were
branched compared with 42% in cassava and 27% in wheat.
The degree of polymerisation and branching has been reported to have a
substantial effect on the physicochemical properties of amylose and amylopectin
(Zobel 1988).
Alkali number
The alkali number is a measure of the number of reducing end groups and is related
to the molecular weight (Schoch 1964d). Seog et aZ(1987) reported alkali number
values of between 7.66 and 12.13 for six Korean sweet potato starches. These
values on average are higher than those reported for potato (6.0) and cassava (5.3)
but lower than for maize (1 1.8) (Dreher and Berry 1983).

TABLE 6
Results of Bio-gel P30 gel filtration patterns of sweet potato digested by isoamylase (Takeda
et a1 1986a; see Fig 3)

Varieties

Fraction Koganesengan Minamiyutaka Norin 2

Degrees of polymerisation 1 91 (f15) 77 (f11) 162 ( f 4 2 )

2 70 (f3) 69 (*6) 69 (+ 11)
3 45 (f4) 44 (f3) 45 (f1)
4 15 (+ 1) 15 (f1) 15 (f1)
Carbohydrate g kg-' 1 60 (f10) 80 (f10) 70 (f10)
2 60 ( f 20) 50 (f10) 80 (f10)
3 100 ( * 20) 220 (f10) 230 (f10)
4 670 (f10) 650 (f10) 620 (f10)

Values are means ( f SD) of three experiments.

Physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch 47 I

Gelatinization
As starch grains are heated in aqueous suspension, they take up water. There are
thought to be at least three main stages (Blanshard 1979):

(1) Hydration and swelling of the amorphous regions between the crystallites.
(2) A hydration-facilitated melting of the starch crystallites. This process may be
further promoted through stresses imposed by the swelling of the surrounding
amorphous regions and the stripping of macromolecules from the surface of
the crystallite. The melting point of the crystallites increases with water
contents below 30% w.
(3) Further hydration and swelling of the molten crystallites and interstitial
regions.

The gelatinisation temperature is controlled not only by the water content but
also by the presence of salts, sugars and other small molecules. For example, the
temperature at which gelatinisation occurs can be reduced by sodium iodide but
increased by sodium sulphate. It is not surprising that chemical modification affects
the gelatinisation temperature ( T e J (Hari et a1 1989).
A major factor controlling swelling is the strength of the internal structure of the
granule. The stronger the internal molecular structure, the higher the temperature
required for gelatinisation (Hari et a1 1989).
Granule size, amylose content, molecular weight, crystallinity and the internal
granular organisation all affect gelatinisation (Banks and Greenwood 1975). An
increase in amylose content has also been reported to increase the gelatinisation
temperature (Takeda and Hizukuri 1974; Madamba et a1 1975; Seog et a1 1987).
It should be noted, however, that Freeman et al(1968) found that starch from waxy
maize, with a very low amylose content, had a higher gelatinisation temperature
than non-waxy maize starch (high amylose).
Starch gelatinisation may be described either in structural terms as a loss of
macromolecular organisation and order or as a swelling process which also has
major rheological effects. These are not necessarily coincident.
Loss of macromolecular organisation
As far as the first approach is concerned, a number of methods have been used. The
irreversible loss of birefringence, which can be observed conveniently using a
Kofler hot-stage microscope (Watson 1964), is a well-known method. These events
may also be followed by observing the loss of X-ray crystallinity (Song et a1 1987).
Differential scanning calorimetry can also be used since gelatinisation is an endo-
thermic process reflecting the change of order within the granule. The temperatures
associated with the onset, peak and end point of the endotherm are noted and the
total enthalpy change AH calculated from the area under the thermogram peak.
The onset and peak temperatures and enthalpy vary with variety and also with the
environmental conditions in which the plants are grown (Kitada et a1 1988) as
shown in Table 7.
The loss of order within the granule permits staining reactions to take place with
dyes such as Congo Red (McMasters 1964). The interactions with iodine and with
472 S J Tian, J E Rickard, J M V Blanshard

TABLE 7
Temperature and enthalpy of sweet potato starch gelatinisation by differential scanning
calorimetry
Variety Reference

TN 57 70 78 84.8 12.3 Chiang and Chen 1988

TN 66 67 73 81.9 10.0 Chiang and Chen 1988
TN 68 75 79 81.4 11.5 Chiang and Chen 1988
Kagoshima* 1 68.1 73.5 84.6 15.9 Kitada et a1 1988
Kagoshima* 2 68.2 74.3 86.8 16.3 Kitada et a1 1988
Chiba* 65.6 72.8 84.9 15.1 Kitada et a1 1988
* Different growth locations.

enzymes such as glucoamylase (Toyama et a1 1966; Takeda and Hizukuri 1983)

have also been used to monitor gelatinisation. Madamba et a1 (1975) compared six
varieties of sweet potato using Congo Red to estimate the degree of gelatinisation,
and their gelatinisation curves are given in Fig 4. Sweet potato starches have been
reported to gelatinise between 58 and 90°C as shown in Table 8. Gelatinisation
curves are typically sigmoidal in sweet potatoes but not perfectly symmetrical. The
gelatinisation temperature appears to be greater in sweet potato starch than in that
of cassava, potato or wheat but similar to that of rice (Zobel 1988; Rickard et a1
1991).
Swelling of granules and rheological changes

Swelling and solubility

When starch is heated in the presence of water, the individual granules swell and
a portion of the starch dissolves in the surrounding aqueous medium. The degree
of swelling and the amount of solubilisation depend on the extent of chemical
cross-bonding within the granules (Schoch 1964c). The patterns of progressive
swelling and solubilisation of various starches have been compared over a range of
temperatures to provide information about the relative strengths of bonding within
the granules (Rasper 1969b). The presence in starch of non-carbohydrate
substances such as lipid or phosphate may affect swelling (Leach et a1 1959;

Fig. 4. Gelatinisation curves of six sweet potato

starches grown in the Phillippines (after Madamba
5
f
et al 1975).
Key to varieties: crn
C

Amylose U
x
--
-x-x- Georgia Red 30.8 .-
Daja 29.9 .-C
m
Jewel 29%
-0
c

BNAS 29.8 a
-*-*- SP45 30.0
Centennial 37.4 TernDerature ("C)
 TABLE 8
Gelatinisation temperatures of sweet potato starches 2
5
Variety Method Degree of Range Temperature Reference ;i'
F:
gelatinisation ("C) at 50% 2-
gelatinisation 9.
("C) 3-
B
- T 100 65-80 - Shin and Ahn 1983 s9
Tai-non 31 K 2- I00 58-69 63 Lii and Chang 1978 -.
- E'
G 5-95 60-90 - Takeda and Hizukuri 1974
- -
I 0-96 65-80 Takeda and Hizukuri 1974 5
Daja C 0- 100 57-70 66.2 Madamba and San Pedro 1976 f
SP 45 C 0- 100 58-73 69.7 Madamba and San Pedro 1976
Georgia Red C 0-100 58-7 1 63.6 Madamba and San Pedro 1976 5
Centennial C 0- 100 58-75 70.7 Madamba and San Pedro 1976 $
Jewel C 0- 100 59-72 67.4 Madamba and San Pedro 1976 2
BNAS C 0- 100 60-7 1 68.9 Madamba and San Pedro 1976
Koganesengan G 15-95 65-78 70 Takeda et a1 1986a
Koganesengan I 35-100 70-90 72 Takeda et a1 1986a
Minamijutaka G 10-100 65-90 71 Takeda et a1 1986a
Minamijutaka I 30-98 70-90 73 Takeda et a1 1986a
Norin 2 G 5-93 65-80 72 Takeda et a1 1986a
Norin 2 I 20-90 70-80 74 Takeda et a1 1986a
- X 2.4-95.6 60-77 70 Song et a1 1987
TN 57 K 2-98 66-77 69.9 Chiang and Chen 1988
TN 66 K 2-98 63-72 67.3 Chiang and Chen 1988
TN 68 K 2-98 64-74 71.5 Chiang and Chen 1988
- B - - 70 Zobel 1988"
Wheat B - - 63.5 Zobel 1988"
Rice B - - 70.0 Zobel 1988"
Irish potato B - - 67.3 Zobel 1988"
Cassava B - - 66.0 Zobel 1988"
Methods: B = Loss of optical birefringence, C = Congo Red staining, G = glucosamylase digestion, I = iodine titration method, K = Kofler
hot-stage microscope, T = increase in optical transmittance at 625 nm, X = loss of X-ray crystallinity. -2
P
W
-Unspecified sweet potato.
" = Mid-point (50% gelatinised).
 TABLE 9 P
~~
2
Variety Temperature (O C) Reference
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95

Swelling power of sweet potato starches

T N 57 - 2. I 10.7 27.4 31.6 Chiang and Chen 1988
T N 66 - 2.3 14.6 24.5 27.5 Chiang and Chen 1988
T N 68 - 2.1 16.9 25.8 33.3 Chiang and Chen 1988
Eunmi 4 - 22 32 63 Seog et a1 1987
Jinmi 4 - 21 39 84 Seog et a1 1987
Shinmi 3 - 17 38 72 Seog et a1 1987
Sunmi 3 - 16 33 79 Seog et a1 1987
Hongmi 3 - 25 46 95 Seog et a1 1987
Hwangmi 3 - 19 38 87 Seog et a1 1987
- - - 117 134 192 El Saadany et a1 1980"
Chunmi 5.5 - 24 30 - Shin and Ahn 1983
Suwon 8 - 19 24 Shin and Ahn 1983
- - - - 2 18 22 25 Rasper et a1 1969b
- 6.0 - 12.0 16.9 20.8 Song et a1 1987
Solubility of sweet potato starches
TN 57 - 0.8 7.3 12.9 14.0 Chiang and Chen 1988
T N 66 - 0.7 9.5 12.8 13.2 Chiang and Chen 1988 4
TN 68 - 0.6 9.4 11.4 14.4 Chiang and Chen 1988 h
Eunmi 1.36 - 17.8 30.2 60 Seog et a1 198I
Jinmi 1.20 - 16.8 38.2 65 Seog et a1 1981
Shinmi 0.49 - 11.0 42.6 73 Seog et a1 1981
Sunmi 0.68 - 10.1 32.6 62 Seog et al 1981
Hongmi 1.84 - 41.0 49.6 79 Seog et a1 1981
Hwangmi 0.83 - 16.8 39.4 68 Seog et a1 1981
- - 2.0 - - - El Saadany et a1 1980
Swelling capacity.
Physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch 475

16

24
20
--
3
12

P 16
2
.-
8 9 e
p
-
.-
12 5:
Y 8 4
v)
4

60 65 70 75 00 05 90 95 60 65 7 0 7 5 8 0 0 5 9095
Temperature ("C) Temperature ( O C )

Fig. 5. Swelling and solubility patterns of six varieties of sweet potato starches grown in the Phillippines
(after Madamba et al 1975).

Moorthy and Ramanujam 1986). A high amylose content as well as the presence
of stronger or greater numbers of intermolecular bonds reduces swelling (Delpeuch
and Favier 1980).
It can be seen from the results in Table 9 and Fig 5 that there is great variation
between varieties in swelling and solubility and among the results of different
workers. Rasper (1969b) and Madamba et a1 (1975) found that sweet potato
exhibited single-stage swelling, which suggested the presence of uniform inter-
molecular bonds. In contrast, Delpeuch and Favier (1980) found a two-stage
swelling pattern for sweet potatoes. Comparative experiments have shown that the
swelling and solubility of sweet potato starch are less than those of potato and
cassava but generally more than those of maize (Rasper 1969b; Delpeuch and
Favier 1980) (Fig 6). It has therefore been suggested that sweet potato starch has
a higher degree of intermolecular association in its starch granules than has potato
or cassava starch (Madamba et a1 1975).

"1 I
i

50 60 70 80 90
Temperature ("C)

Fig. 6. Swelling power and solubility of sweet potato starch (after Hizukuri et a1 1988). Key to type of
starch; -*A+- Irish potato; -sweet potato; CCcorn; -cassava CM1559 (August, harvest)
(Asaoka et al 1992).
 TABLE 10
The viscosity of sweet potato starch
Variety Viscosity" SpeciJich Intrinsic' Limitingd Reference
(CP) viscosity viscosity viscosity
number
(mlg - 1
'
Sw pot amylose 1 1 3.9h Lii et a1 1987
Sw pot amylose 324-334* Takeda et a1 1986a
Potato amylose 384 Takeda et al 1984
Wheat amylose 80 Takeda et a1 1984
Cassava amylose 384 Takeda et al 1984
Sw pot amylopectin 175-193 Takeda et al 1986a
Potato amylopectin 224 Suzuki et al 1981
Sweet potato starch 120-1 5 Y Madamba et a/ 1975
Sw pot variety
Gem 18.7 Martin and Deshpande 1985
Miguela 16.8 Martin and Deshpande 1985
Trompo Nigra 15.2 Martin and Deshpande 1985
Frita 8.8 Martin and Deshpande 1985
22.8 Martin and Deshpande 1985 Y
Spud -2
Papota - - 11.5 Martin and Deshpande 1985
Ninet y-nine - - 21.8 Martin and Deshpande 1985
217 1.1417 1.68 El Saadany et al 1980
Cassava 204 1.1085 1.66 El Saadany et a1 1980

C p = Centipoises. " Fenske viscometer (Greenwood 1964).

"Hoppler viscometer (Kerr et a1 1951). 'Three varieties.

'Canon-Fiske No 100 pipette (Lansky et al 1949). A- Six varieties.

'Viscometry (Leach, 1963). Sw pot = -Sweet potato.

'Ostwald viscometer.
Physicochemicul properries cf weer poraro srarcli 411

Rheological changes
Viscometry. The limiting viscosity number (or intrinsic viscosity) is related to the
ability of polymer molecules to increase the viscosity of the solvent, in the absence
of any intermolecular interactions (Young 198I). Intrinsic viscosity is directly
related to molecular size and hence to the degree of polymerisation (Daniels 1966).
A number of different viscometers have been used by research workers, and their
results are exemplified in Table 10.
Varietal differences in viscosity have been reported as significant (Madamba
et af 1975; Liu et af 1985) (Table 11). Sweet potato amylose has a limiting viscosity
higher than that of wheat but lower than that of cassava or Irish potato amylose
(Takeda et a f 1984, 1986a). Similarly, sweet potato amylopectin has a lower
limiting viscosity number than Irish potato amylopectin, suggesting smaller or
more spherical molecules (Suzuki et af 1981; Takeda et af 1986a).

Pasting. In the presence of water and heat, starch granules swell by absorbing water
and the starch granule begins to break down resulting in a paste which then forms
a gel on cooling. The consistency of the paste, the properties of the gel and the
latter's viscosity during the pasting cycle are important for many industrial
applications as they influence important quality characteristics (Leelavathi et al
1987).
The Brabender amylograph provides a good method for defining these charac-
teristics (Kent-Jones and Amos 1967). The amylograph measures changes in
viscosity as a function of temperature and time. After gelatinisation the viscosity
increases because of granular swelling but also because of the effects of soluble
substances which are released from swollen granules through further heating or
mechanical disruption. The temperature is usually raised at a rate of 1.5"C per
minute until 95°C where it is held for a given length of time before the temperature
is reduced to 50°C at the rate of 1.5"Cper minute and then held at 50°C for another
given length of time. Lii and Chang ( I 978) reduced the temperature to 35°C instead
of 50°C (Fig 7). In Fig 7 the letter A represents peak viscosity and indicates the
highest viscosity that may be encountered during the preparation of a usable paste,
and the letter B represents the viscosity at 95°C. C represents the viscosity after the

TABLE 11
Viscosity of various sweet potato varieties at different temperatures (Liu et a1 1985)

Sweet potato variety 25°C 40°C 60°C 90°C 25°C (after cooling
,from 90°C)
~~~ ~

C 64-4 2.13 1.95 2.00 23.75 100.0

C 70-141 1.95 1.63 5.40 4.33 7.8
C 70-245 1.50 1.65 3.10 9.65 32.73
C 71-96 2.33 2.15 3.90 5.38 6.0
Tainung 57 1.98 2.20 2.18 44.3 100.0
18 varieties (2.25) (2.00) (3.05) (44.77) (61.55)
Viscosity was measured in Centipoise by a Brookfield LVT viscometer with a 9% solution.
( ) = Mean of all varieties studied.
478 S J Tian, J E Rickard, J M V Blanshard

Time ( m i n )
40 100 140 200

Fig. 7. Comparisons of Brabender viscograms of 500.

three varieties of sweet potato starches and between I
the laboratory and commercial products (after Lii et
al 1978). Key to varieties: C C Tai-non 17; - - - -
!
Tai-non 14; ~ Tai-non 31 (laboratory); . . . . . 35 95 95 35 35
Tai-non 31 (factory, 70glitre-' starch suspension). Temperature ("C)

starch paste has been held at 95°C for 1 h, and shows the stability of starch on
cooking, whereas D represents the setback and shows the viscosity of the cooked
paste. E reflects the stability of the cooked starch after 1 h at 35OC (Mazurs et a1
1957).
Pasting temperatures of sweet potato starches vary between 66.5 and 86.3"C,
and these together with other Brabender results are shown in Table 12. The
method of starch preparation and the impurities in the starch samples can affect
pasting viscosities (Fig 7) (Lii and Chang 1978). The viscosities of starch
suspensions are dependent on concentration and variety (Fig 8 and 9) and are also
affected by pH (Rodriguez-Sosa et a1 1981).
Shin and Ahn (1983) and Seog et a1 (1987) found no peak viscosity with 4%
(w/v) and 6% (w/v) sweet potato starch suspensions, respectively. Lii and Chang
(1978) reported a moderate peak viscosity during cooking and a high set-back on
cooling with a starch suspension of 7% (w/v) (Fig 7). Sweet potato starch has also
been described as having a high peak viscosity that is said to thin rapidly with
prolonged cooking before thickening on cooling (Anon 1968). Many reports show
that the results from Brabender amylographs are different for different varieties
(Lii and Chang 1978; Cereda et al 1984, 1985) (Figs 7-9).

Gel consistency and retrogradation. On cooling, dispersions of gelatinised starch

granules in water acquire the consistency of gels. Above a critical concentration the

Fig. 8. Brabender amylograms of starch of three

varieties of sweet potato (after Takeda et al
1986a). Key to varieties: - Minamiyutaka; I , ,r , ,
Norin 2, --- Kagonesengan. Concen- 55 70 85 925 92.505 70 55
tration 5 0 g l i t r e ~ ' . Temperature ("C)
 TABLE 12
Brabender viscosity data of sweet potato starch in Brabender units (BU)
Varieties Concentration Pasting Maximum Viscosity, Viscosity Viscosity Viscosity, Breakdown Minimum1 After Reference
("/.I temp viscosity 92"C-9s"C after after 35-50°C viscosity, maximum 60 min
("C) BU I5 min. 60 min, BU (gh-') 35-50°C
(Temp " C ) 9PC -95°C

Maize 4.4 85.0 85 85 85 280 280" Rasper 1969a

sweet potato 4.4 79.0 220 220 160 240 240" Rasper 1969a
Cassava 4.4 70.0 245 200 90 I65 165" Rasper 1969a
Koganesengan 5.0 73.0 500 I 20 Takeda el al 1986a
Minamiyutaka 5.0 73.5 530 140 Takeda et al 1986a
Norin 2 5.0 75.0 580 90 Takeda el al 1986a
Area grown
Kagoshimab 7.0 73.5 865 (92) 700 505' Kitada et a/ 1988
Chibab 7.0 73.0 775 (95) 725 58oC Kitada et a/ 1988
6.0 72.0 292 (92) 295 73od Kinjo and Fukuba 1978
6.0 78.0 570 (83) 440 Kinjo and Fukuba 1975
Eunmi 6.0 86.3 1130 1100 I130 Seog et al 1987
Jinmi 6.0 68.3 920 920 890 Seog el al 1987
Shinmi 6.0 70.8 940 900 880 Seog et al 1987
Sunmi 6.0 71.3 890 880 890 Seog et all987
Hongmi 6.0 70.4 750 720 690 Seog el a/ 1987
Hwangmi 6.0 69.5 1060 1060 1040 Seog et al 1987
Suwon 147 4.0 71.0 470 530 710 Shin and Ahn 1983
Chumni 4.0 77.0 550 500 620 Shin and Ahn 1983
Minamiyutaka 4.4 68.0 560 900 Shiotai el a/ 1991
Tamayutaka 4.4 66.5 550 750 Shiotai el a/ 1991
Tai-Non 31' 7.0 66.0 1600 (81) 415 9206 looh 9306 Lii and Chang 1978
Tai-Non 1 6 7.0 66.0 1090 (82) 595 9206 looh 1005% Lii and Chang 1978
Tai-Non 31' 7.0 66.0 1010 (94) 410 7206 8& 8109 Lii and Chang 1978
Tai-Non. 17J 7.0 69.0 880 (85) 610 1015g I2ooh 10809 Lii and Chang 1978
Outdoor' 3.5 71.0 32' (89) Nikuni et al 1963
Outdoor 23°C 3.5 72.0 30J (95) Nikuni ef a/ 1963
Outdoor 28'C 3.5 78.0 23' (95) Nikuni e f al 1963)
Outdoor 33OC 3.5 84.0 18'. (95) Nikuni et a/ 1963)
Indoor' 3.0 76.0 23' (95) Nikuni et a1 1963)
Indoor 18'C 3.0 78.0 211 (95) Nikuni el al 1963)
Indoor 2 8 T 3.0 85.0 15' (95) Nikuni et al 1963)

"30min at 50°C. 8 = 35oc.

bArea grown. = Maximum BU on cooling. 5
W
'Minimum BU on cooling. 'Pre-harvest soil temperature.
= 50°C. 'Viscosity units not given.
' = Laboratory method of starch isolation. Com, Commercial starch.
' = Factory method of isolation.
480 S J Tian, J E Rickard. J M V Blanshard

17501
1500

250 Ii
Ii
Fig. 9. Brabender amylograms of starch of three 0 4050 190 140150 200
varieties of sweet potato (after Chiang ef al 1988). min
Key to varieties: - - - TN66; ~ TN57; 35 95 . 95 35 35
TN 68. Concentration 70glitre-I. Temperature ( " C )

swollen granules become entangled in amylose chains which have diffused out of
the starch granules. The resultant composite is in essence an amylose gel with the
swollen starch granules as a filler (Gidley 1989; Roulet et a1 1990). The changes that
prompt gelation may involve phase separation at low concentrations but always
involve chain aggregation (Miles et a1 1985). The above situation may be further
complicated where the starch granules are ruptured by shearing or other methods
of thermal or mechanical damage (Mestres et a1 1988). Further changes occur on
storage, involving recrystallisation (or retrogradation) of the polymer chains.
Retrogradation is affected by the arnylose and amylopectin concentrations, the
presence of other molecules such as sugars, salts and emulsifiers, molecular size,
temperature, pH and other non-starch components (Del Rosario and Pontiveros
1983).
The effect of retrogradation on the rheological properties of starch pastes was
studied by Rasper (1969a). Starch pastes were prepared by using the Brabender
visco-amylograph and were stored at 25T, covered by a thin layer of paraffin to
prevent skin formation, and evaluated using the FIRA Jelly Tester. Rasper (1969a)
studied the changes in gel consistency of different starches over 7 days and selected
the concentrations of the different starch gels so that the maximum viscosities of
the hot pastes were similar before gel formation. The results are given in Table 13.
Takeda et a1 (1986a) examined the retrogradation of sweet potato amylose which
appeared to retrograde at the same rate as that of cassava but more slowly than

TABLE 13
Consistency of starch gels as determined by Rasper (1969a) in millilitres

Crop Concentration Day 1 Day 4 Day 7

(per 450rnl)

Sweet potato 26 g 8.5 10.5 12.5

Maize 34.6 g 16.5 17.0 14.8
Cassava 25 g Too low for measurement
Xanthosoma 32.8 16.3 18.7 20.5
Colocasia 25 g 2.7 3-6 2.9
Physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch 48 1

TABLE 14
Changes in the degree of gelatinisation (YO) as a measurement of retrogradation of three
varieties of sweet potato starches prepared by heating 5% starch at 100°C for 20 min and
then stored at 0°C for a specified time (Takeda et a1 1986a)
~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

Time (h) Koganesengan Minamiyutaka Norin 2

at 0°C
DGg DGi DGg DGi DGg DGi

0 98 99 96 98 98 99
1 93 76 93 97 92 97
15 89 70 86 74 89 73
24 86 66 84 68 87 67
72 79 61 77 61 81 66

DG = Degree of gelatinisation; g = glucoamylase method of estimation; i = iodine titra-

tion method of estimation.

that of Irish potato amylose. In contrast, Rasper (1969a) reported that sweet
potato amylose retrograded at a slower rate than that of cassava and also that
sweet potato amylopectin retrograded at a greater rate than cassava amylopectin.
Takeda et a1 (1986a) examined the retrogradation of sweet potato starch stored at
O O C . They found that it retrogrades at a rate similar to that at which Irish potato

starch retrogrades but at a faster rate than cassava starch. These retrogradation
results are given in Table 14. Del Rosario and Pontiveros (1983) found that sweet
potato starch retrograded more slowly than wheat, corn and cassava starches, and
suggested that this was the reason for the observation that bread containing sweet
potato flour as a substituent staled at a slower rate than other breads.

Water-binding capacity. The water-binding capacity of starch gels has been

commonly determined by the method of Medcalf and Gilles (1 965). The values for
sweet potato range from 66.3 to 21 1.6% as shown in Table 15. In general, tuberous

TABLE 15
Water-binding capacity (WB) of sweet potato starch
Variety W B capacity % Reference
Suwon 147 178.9 Shin and Ahn 1983
Chunmi 185.5 Shin and Ahn 1983
Eunmi 21 1.6 Seog et al 1987
Jinmi 185.6 Seog et al 1987
Shinmi 175.7 Seog et a1 1987
Sunmi 188.8 Seog et a1 1987
Hongmi 192.6 Seog et al 1987
Hwangmi 191.1 Seog et al 1987
66.3 Song et a1 1987
Medcalf and Gilles (1965) shaking and centrifugation method was employed
to produce these results.
482 S J Tian. J E Rickard. J M V Blanshard

starches have higher water-binding capacities than those of cereal origin (Banks
and Greenwood 1975), and the majority of workers have demonstrated that sweet
potato starch has a higher water-binding capacity than potato (93%) (Dreher and
Berry 1983) and cassava starches (72-92%) (Rickard et al 1991).

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DEGRADATION
Degradation by acid
Dilute acid can be used to elucidate the architecture of the starch granule (Banks
and Greenwood 1975). There is an initial attack on the amorphous regions which
enhances crystallinity and increases thermal stability (Biliaderis et a1 (1981). The
solubility on heating increases with acid degradation and the viscosity is lowered
but granular integrity can be maintained even when 25% of the starch has been
hydrolysed (Banks and Greenwood 1975).
A corrosion constant can be calculated from a plot of In C against time where
Cis the proportion of residual starch (Madamba et a1 1975). These authors found
that varietal differences in acid corrosion were highly significant in sweet potato
with degradation ranging between 43.2 and 51.0% and corrosion constants
between 0.75 and 1.26 after 4 days in 2.2 M HCI at 35OC. Hizukuri et a1 (1972) used
gel filtration to examine the effect of H,SO,, HCl and H N 0 3 acid degradation on
chain length in sweet potato starch. They found that the starch granules were
degraded to a similar degree of polymerisation (29-32%) by the three acids. Since,
also, P-amylase did not completely degrade these fractions, it was suggested that
some branch points of amylopectin are buried in the crystalline parts of the starch
granules.
Nara et a1 (1983) investigated the kinetics of acid degradation and found that it
could be described by two exponential hydrolysis rates, a fast hydrolysis of the
amorphous regions and a slow hydrolysis of the crystalline regions. Sweet potato
and maize both had a large amount of 'acid-resistant' starch, but the acid-resistant
component of sweet potato starch was hydrolysed at a faster rate than that of other
starches (Table 16).

TABLE 16
Acid resistance of starch to 16% H,S04 at 50°C (Nara et al 1983)

Rice 19.6 80.4 0.0466 0.677

Cassava 20.2 80.4 0.0342 0.474
Potato 29.6 66.0 0.0349 0.270
Wheat 39.1 62.5 0.0239 0.4 18
Sweet potato 43.7 49.6 0.0995 0.403
Maize 54.6 47.0 0.0489 0.398
C, = % acid-resistant portion; A , = % low acid-resistant portion; K, = reaction rate
constant of C,; K, = reaction rate constant of a,.
Physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch 483

Degradation by enzymes
Both amylose and amylopectin are attacked by fl-amylase in a stepwise manner
from the non-reducing ends, until cleavage reaches, on average, a position two
residues from the branch points. fl-Amylase can be used to determine external
chain lengths and to estimate the number of branch points (Hokama et a1 1980; Lii
et a1 1987; Manners 1989). Lii et a1 (1987) reported a fl-amylase limit for the
amylose of sweet potato of 87-9%, substantially greater than the results of Takeda
et a1 (1986a) (Table 17). In contrast, a-amylase is able to attack the polymers
randomly at any a- 1 : 4-linkage that is sterically accessible.
Enzymic degradation can be evaluated by quantitative determination of the
products from digestion or by measuring the decrease in hot paste viscosity
(Rasper 1969a). Scanning electron microscopy can also be used to examine the
starch granules after attack (Hizukuri 1969).
Non-cereal starches have a relatively low susceptibility to enzymic degradation
(Fuwa et a1 1977). Cassava is one of the least resistant root starches (Rickard et a1
1991) whereas potato starch is very resistant, probably partly because of its large
granule size (Madamba et a1 1975). Sweet potato starch is more susceptible than
potato starch but less susceptible than cassava starch to degradation by a-amylase

TABLE 17
Enzymic degradation of starch
Hydrolysis (%)
I 2 3 4 5 6 7

Crop
Sweet potato amylose 87.9 - - - 72-73" - -
Sw pot amylopectin - - - - 55-56" - -

Sweet potato - 43.3 14.9 20.8 - 2.43 53.8

Maize - 87.1 51.1 35.0 - 9.15 93.7
Potato 73.6' 8.5 4.98 2.9 - 1.38 14.1
Cassava 92.3' - - 34.9 - 5.20 -
~~

"Three varieties.
'Amylose only.
1. Lii et a1 (1987). Digestion of amyloses by sweet potato 8-amylase.
2. Fuwa et a1 (1977). Digestion of starch granules by 1% pancreatin and 50mg starch in
6.7 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) with lOmM sodium chloride and lOmM calcium acetate
for 5 h.
3. Fuwa et a1 (1977). Digestion of starch granules by Bacillus subtilis a-amylase (0.033%)
with the same conditions as 2.
4. Ueda and Jaha (1983). Digestion of raw starch by Endomycopsisfibuligera glucoamylase
(1.71 units) and hydrolysis for 24h.
5 . Takeda et a1 (1986a). Digestion of amylose by sweet potato 8-amylase (150 U) in 50 mM
acetate buffer (pH 4.8).
6. Rasper (1969b). Digestion of raw starch by bacterial cc-amylase in pH6.5 phosphate
buffer.
7. Fuwa et a1 (1977). Digestion of starch granules by 0.2% Rhizopus glucoamylase prepara-
tion, 40 mg starch in 0.32 M acetate buffer (PH 4.8) for 24 h.
484 S J Tian. J E Rickord. J M V Blanshard

200

8
100

-
-
a

Fig. 10. Comparison of the rate of bacterial a-

amylase degradation of starch (after Delpeuch et a1 50
1980). Key to types of starch: - maize; U
cassava; Colocasia, white; Colocasia,
red; -CLC-C- yellow sweet potato; -t#+
Xanrhosoma. 5Mrn30 60 90 120
Time ( min)

and glucoamylase (Delpeuch and Favier 1980; Hizukuri et a1 1988; Kainuma

1988). Gallant et af (1982) found that type-A (X-ray pattern) starches show a rather
high susceptibility to a-amylase attack in contrast to the results of Leach and
Schoch (1961) who reported that enzymic susceptibility was unrelated to the
external surface area, the X-ray diffraction pattern or the swelling and solubility.
Varietal differences among sweet potato starches in susceptibility to attack by
a-amylase have been reported to be highly significant (Madamba et af 1975).
Some reported results on enzymic degradation are given in Table 17 and in
Figs 10-12.

PRE-HARVEST FACTORS

Post-harvest treatments such as the method of starch isolation, as well as genetic

factors, may have a profound effect on the properties of sweet potato starch.
Hizukuri (1969) reported that the environmental conditions during growth of a
plant, especially the temperature, constitute one of the most important factors
affecting the physicochemical characteristics of starch granules including those of
sweet potato, besides genetic and endogenous factors. This view was subsequently
confirmed by Asaoka et af (1984, 1985) for rice.
Li and Liao (1983) reported significant differences in the sweet potato starch

Fig. 11. Digestion of raw sweet potato starch by glucoamylase

and a-amylase (after Ishihara et al 1982). Key: Rhizopus
niveus glucoamylase (24 units enzyme g-' starch); Bacillus

acetate buffer, pH 4).

'
amyloliquefaciens a-amylase (40 units enzyme g- starch) (0.05 M 0 20 40 60 80 100
Time ( h )
Physicochernical properties of sweet poiato starch 485

Fig. 12. Hydrolysis curves of various starches

by Chalara amylase (after Kainuma 1988).

content with location and year for different varieties (correlations were considered
highly significant). They found that the starch content was higher in autumn and
winter plantings and at 150-180 days after planting than at 120 days. There was
a linear relationship between total dry matter and starch and a significant decrease
in starch content after 40 days. Madamba and San-Pedro (1976) found some
varieties of sweet potato had higher starch levels in wet seasons while others had
higher levels in the dry season. Sweet potato starch content increases until
4 months after planting and then remains constant (Bouwkamp 1985). Fertilisers
have no effect upon the starch content of sweet potatoes (Anderson 1936).
The environmental growth temperature may affect the crystalline structure of
starch. Hizukuri (1969) and Nikuni et a1 (1963) have found that, in sweet potato,
high temperatures of 28OC or above favour the formation of A-type crystal
patterns, but that, below 23"C, C,-type crystals (50% A) are formed.
Hizukuri (1985) has also suggested that the type of crystallinity and its sensitivity
to temperature depend on the chain length of the amylopectin. A-type-pattern
starches were formed when the chain length was shorter than the B type. C-type
patterns had chain lengths which were intermediate and were more sensitive to
environmental temperatures.
Delpeuch er al(l978) concluded that the amylose content in sweet potato was
not affected by the manner of cultivation or the year of harvest. However,
Madamba and San-Pedro (1976) found that in wet seasons sweet potatoes had a
significantly higher amylose content (as much as 12%). The amylose content has
also been found to be higher and the amylose chain length longer in the early stages
of granule development (Fujimoto et a1 1972).
Kitada et a1 (1988) found that gelatinisation temperatures were affected by the
region in which the sweet potatoes had been grown (Table 8).
Nikuni er a1 (1963) investigated the effect of soil temperature on viscosity in
sweet potato starch as measured by an amylograph. Starches derived from tubers
grown at soil temperatures of 23, 28 and 33°C yielded onset temperatures which
were the same, but when tubers were grown at a soil temperature of 18°C the onset
temperatures were lower and the maximum viscosity was higher. Hizukuri (1969)
suggested that these and similar results from other studies were the consequence of
the generation of more intermolecular forces which resisted swelling and resulted
486 S J Tian, J E Rickard, J M V Blanshard

601 L Rice

10 15 20 25 30 35 Fig. 13. a-Amylase susceptibility of raw starch (after

Environmental growth temperature PC) Hizukuri 1969).

in a lower maximum viscosity. Increasing the environmental temperature has been

shown t o decrease cr-amylase susceptibility in sweet potatoes (Hizukuri 1969)
(Fig 13).

CONCLUSIONS

This review has shown that sweet potato starch is extremely variable in its physico-
chemical characteristics which are affected by variety, climate, environment, degree
of maturity and duration of storage. More work is needed to characterise the
causes of variability a n d to select varieties which will consistently produce starch
of a given quality for a specific use.

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