Effect of different banana pseudostem parts on their starch yield, morphology and thermal properties

Abstract

Abstract Since banana tree cannot produce fruit twice, there is an abundance of pseudostem left as abandoned crop waste and this leads to environmental pollution. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of different parts of banana pseudostem on the yield, morphology and thermal properties of the starch. The pseudostem was divided into three parts, which are the outer part of pseudostem (OPS), inner part of pseudostem (IPS) and the whole part of pseudostem (WPS). The starch yield from different parts was evaluated. The morphological and thermal properties of each starch were determined by scanning electron microscopy and thermoanalytical technique, respectively. The result shows that yield of starch obtained were 0.08 % higher in OPS compared to IPS. The yield of starch obtained range from 0.12-0.20 %. The iodine test had confirmed the presence of starch obtain from the pseudostem. All the starch showed irregular and spherical shape based on morphology observation. The gelatinization temperature of starch was between 71.15°C-76.50°C. The gelatinization temperature of starch obtained from IPS is 3.6 % higher compared to OPS and WPS. The results from this finding show that the starch obtained from pseudostem could be a potential source of starch that can be commercialized, and thus increase the sources of starch in the food industry.