The present study aims to evaluate the physicochemical, rheological, and safety properties of starches isolated from maize kernels with different types of defects. Starch isolation showed to be a valuable alternative to defective yellow maize kernels, since the presence of the evaluated kernel defects (broken, fermented, rotten, moldy, germinated, insect-damaged, and shrunken and immature kernels) did not provide significant changes on starch purity and colour. Only starch isolated from shrunken and immature kernels exhibited reduced extractability. Starch obtained from germinated kernels exhibited the greatest solubility. While flour from moldy kernels showed 7.5 ppb of aflatoxin A1, 25.0 ppb of aflatoxin A2, and 1229.4 ppb of fumonisin B1, any of these mycotoxins were detected in isolated starch. In sum, minor changes in pasting, thermal, crystallinity, and morphological properties of the isolated starches from defective kernels were determined, which does not impair its use in industrial processes.
Keywords: Defective kernels; Germinated kernels; Immature kernels; Insect-damaged kernels; Maize starch; Moldy kernels; Starch safety.
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