The popularity of millet and its products is growing worldwide due to its health-promoting characteristics. The starch in millet is the most essential element, accounting for around 70% of total millet-grains and determining the quality of food items based on millets. The structural, functional and physicochemical features of starch determine its use for various purposes. Natural starch does not have the characteristics needed for specific purpose. Modifications in the structures of starch can be used to get product-specific properties. Information gaps on millet starch has hindered its potential use in new food product design. The objective of the review is to investigate and examine the structural chemistry, characterization, chemical composition and modification methods of the millet starches.
The present study explored the properties of starches isolated from four different Indian varieties of barnyard millet. The amylose content ranged from 21.27 to 23.30% (db) and was highest for BMV2 (23.30%). The swelling power of millet starch varied from 2.10 to 18.80, while solubility ranged from 1.30 to 14.20. The peak viscosity (2492 RVU), the final viscosity (3832 RVU), and the setback viscosity (2077 RVU) were the highest for BMV3 as compared to that of other starches. The starches exhibited small spherical, large angular, and large spherical granules with A‐type crystallinity and an average size of around 10 μm. The degree of crystallinity ranged from 25.7% (for BMV4) to 31.6% (for BMV1). The strong absorption bands from 3255 to 3260 cm−1 were attributed to –OH stretching of the polysaccharide skeleton. A higher yield and purity value suggests that barnyard millet starch can be exploited for commercial starch utilization.
Practical applications
Starch is the major component of barnyard millet grain. It can be isolated, modified, and used as a relatively cheap and novel source. The potential of native and modified starch in food, as well as non‐food industry, can be further exploited. Since the amylose content of barnyard millet starch is high, it can be employed in preparing biodegradable films in combination with a suitable plasticizer.
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