No abstract

The starches separated from bulbs of four different lily cultivars (Lanzhou, Pinglu, Yixing‐1, and Yixing‐2) were investigated for physicochemical, morphological, crystalline, and thermal properties. AM content of lily bulbs starches from different cultivars ranged from 19.46 to 25.17%. The swelling power of starches ranged between 14.4 and 21.3 g/g, and the solubility ranged from 8.92 and 16.6% at the temperature of 85°C. Four cultivars of lily starches paste had excellent transparency and the transmittance value of Lanzhou lily as high as 54.7%. The transmittance of the gelatinized aqueous starch suspensions, from all lily cultivars, decreased with increase in storage period. The shape of starch granules varied from triangular to cylindrical and XRD of four lily starches all showed B‐type pattern. The transition temperatures and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔHgel) were determined using DSC. Tp varied from 62.52 to 65.25°C. Pinglu lily starch showed the highest ΔHgel and gelatinization range (Tc–To) index among starches from four different lily cultivars.

Based on the growth observation of lily bulbs (Lilium Oriental hybrids, 'Acapulco', 'Marco Polo', 'Siberia', 'Sobonne' and 'Tiber'), we found the mountainous condition was suitable for the bulb development. Total 288,020 bulbs (12-14 cm, 14-16 cm and 16-18 cm in circumference) of Oriental lily were harvested from 401,500 imported bulblets (6/9 cm), which were grown in the mountainous region (Jinyun, Zhejiang Province) having an elevation of 880 m. The average ratio for harvested flowering bulbs (>12 cm) and big bulbs (16-18 cm) was 71.7% and 15.4%, respectively. The concentrations of soluble sugar, sucrose and starch in the bulb scales, as well as leaf photosynthesis were investigated during the whole year cultivation. It was found that the fresh weight and circumference of harvested bulbs have the positive correlation between vegetative growth in lily. The bud removal improved the process of bulb development. Accumulation and transportation of carbohydrates in the bulbs also increased significantly from the bud-removal. The average concentrations of starch and total soluble sugar were 293 mg g FW-1 and 9.2 mg g FW-1 in the harvested bulbs, respectively. It was indicated that the quality of mountainous reproduction bulbs was similar to that of the commercial bulbs from Holland.

The effect of sulfur fumigation and freeze-drying on the physicochemical and functional properties of Dioscorea opposita Thunb. starch was investigated. Freeze-drying markedly decreased the AM content of starch from 16.68 to 8.59%. Both sulfur fumigation and freezedrying decreased the protein content but obviously increased the water absorption capacity and swelling power. Sulfur fumigation significantly increased the solubility of starch. Retrogradation tests showed that Chinese yam starch had a poor stability of retrogradation in water, salty, sugar, and acidic medium, but a good stability in alkaline medium. SEM analysis showed that different drying methods had minor effects on the morphological properties of D. opposita cv. Ma starch. Although the pattern of D. opposita cv. Ma starch was C-type and was not affected by drying methods, sulfur-fumigation, and freeze-drying increased the crystalline degree of starches from 23.24 to 25.16% and 34.40%, respectively. A minor difference was found in the Fourier transform infrared spectra of native and treatment starches. After sulfur fumigation and freeze-drying, the peak gelatinization temperatures increased from 71.03 to 76.038C and 83.078C, respectively, whereas the gelatinization enthalpy and gelatinization range decreased.

Aconitum, an important toxic traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in clinical practice. Owing to its toxicity, it should be processed before application. Aconiti lateralis Preparata (ALP) is one of the most important commercial processed products of Aconitum. The object of this work is to study the physicochemical and functional properties of Aconitum and ALP starches. The results revealed that AM content changed, transforming from 37.5 to 27.5% after processing. The shape of Aconitum starch granules also changed from spherical or oval with sizes of 5–15 µm to irregular and polygonal with sizes of 30–60 µm. The crystallinity of Aconitum decreased from 38.7 to 23.0% after processing. The transition temperatures (To, Tp and Tc) and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔHgel) were determined using DSC. To, Tp and Tc decreased from 52.9 to 48.6, 66.9 to 58.9, and 82.2 to 69.3°C, respectively. Aconitum starch showed higher ΔHgel values (1.6 J/g), while the ALP starch showed lower values (0.4 J/g).