Composition and properties of starches from Virginia-grown kabuli chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars

Summary Composition and properties of seeds and starches from five Virginia-grown kabuli chickpea cultivars were investigated. The seeds had the average weight of 4.48 g per 10 g and volume of 641.2 mm3, and were rich in carbohydrate with starch as a principal constituent (59.2–70.9%). Resistant starch accounted for 7.7–10.4% of the total starch content. The composition and properties of the starches among the five cultivars were significantly different (P ≤ 0.05). All starches had a C-type crystalline structure. The degree of crystallinity ranged from 21.1% to 27.4%, gelatinisation temperature from 7.97 to 11.2 °C and gelatinisation enthalpies from 2.18 to 3.76 J g−1, and water absorption capacities from 90.7% to 117.5%. Different shapes and granule sizes were observed. Molecular weight of amylopectin was in the range of 6.35 × 108–11.6 × 108 Da. Cultivar ‘HB-14’ was superior to the other cultivars, when combining larger seed size, higher resistant starch level and better properties.