title: Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) starch: Basic physico-chemical characteristics and use as thermoplastic material.
abstract: Starch isolated from non-edible Aesculus hippocastanum seeds was characterized and used for preparing starch-based materials. The apparent amylose content of the isolated starch was 33.1%. The size of starch granules ranged from 0.7 to 35 μm, and correlated with the shape of granules (spherical, oval and irregular). The chain length distribution profile of amylopectin showed two peaks, at polymerization degree (DP) of 12 and 41-43. Around 53% of branch unit chains had DP in the range of 11-20. A. hippocastanum starch displayed a typical C-type pattern and the maximum decomposition temperature was 317 °C. Thermoplastic starch (TPS) prepared from A. hippocastanum with glycerol and processed by melt blending exhibited adequate mechanical and thermal properties. In contrast, plasticized TPS with glycerol:malic acid (1:1) showed lower thermal stability and a pasty and sticky behavior, indicating that malic acid accelerates degradation of starch during processing.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Desarrollo Tecnológico, Universidad de Concepción, Avda. Cordillera 2634, Coronel, Chile.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castaño
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación de Polímeros Avanzados (CIPA), Beltran Mathiew 224, Concepción, Chile. Electronic address: s.rodriguez@cipachile.cl.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Llamazares
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación de Polímeros Avanzados (CIPA), Beltran Mathiew 224, Concepción, Chile.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Contreras
authors.affiliation: Materials Engineering Department, Universidad de Concepción, Edmundo Larenas 270, Concepción, Chile. Electronic address: ccarrascoc@udec.cl.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación de Polímeros Avanzados (CIPA), Beltran Mathiew 224, Concepción, Chile.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pozo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, E.U.P. Ferrol, Universidad de A Coruña, Avda. 19 de Febrero, s/n, 15405 Ferrol, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bouza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Engenharia e Tecnologia de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual Paulista, R. Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: C M L
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Giraldo
mesh_terms: D031319:Aesculus / Q000737:chemistry*; D000687:Amylopectin / Q000737:chemistry; D063566:Biodegradable Plastics / Q000737:chemistry*; D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry; D008293:Malates / Q000737:chemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D012212:Rheology / Q000379:methods; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013213:Starch / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature; D013718:Tensile Strength; D013818:Thermogravimetry; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D063566:Biodegradable Plastics; D008293:Malates; C030298:malic acid; D013213:Starch; D000687:Amylopectin; D005990:Glycerol
keywords: Aesculus hippocastanum L.; Amylopectin structure; Non-edible source; Thermoplastic starch