Physicochemical properties of lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) and kudzu (Pueraria hirsute Matsum.) starches

Summary Lotus and kudzu starches have been used as functional foods in East Asia for thousands of years. The objective of this work is to investigate the starches’ basic physicochemical properties. The amylose content was the highest (30.61%) in lotus starch. The average particle size (diameters) was 50.27, 24.08 and 38.97 μ m for lotus, kudzu and corn starches, respectively. Lotus starch exhibited a B‐type X‐ray diffraction pattern and kudzu starch exhibited a C‐type pattern. Kudzu starch was characterised by a maximum viscosity immediately followed by a sharp decrease in viscosity, while the lotus starch was characterised by a plateau when the maximum viscosity was reached.