The paper describes the effects of galactomannans on viscoelastic properties of commercial Japanese white kuzu starch pastes. The study included morphological, thermal and rheological analyses of the biopolymer. The results obtained in the form of storage modulus G'(ω) and loss modulus G″(ω) were described by the modified fractional Kelvin-Voigt model with two springpot-type elements, created on the basis of differential calculus of fractional order and Fourier transform. It allowed to determine 17 material parameters providing a lot of additional information about structure and viscoelastic properties of the biopolymer in comparison to the classical analysis of oscillatory and creep tests. The study led to the conclusion that commercial Japanese white kuzu starch was so-called type II starch with a high pasting temperature of 75 °C and an average granule diameter equal to 10.9 μm. Rheological properties of the pastes depended on the galactose-to-mannose ratio in galactomannan molecule. The larger substitution degree, the higher viscosity, characteristic relaxation times, polydispersity index, gel stiffness, and the lower cross-linking density and average molecular weights. The presence of galactose side groups favored the hydration and immobilization of water molecules.
Keywords: Fractional modelling; Galactomannan; Kuzu starch; Pasting process; Rheological properties.