Characterization of beach pea (Lathyrus maritimus L.) starch

Starch from beach pea (Lathyrus maritimus L.) was isolated and its physicochemical properties were compared with those of grass pea and green pea starches. The yield of beach pea starch was 12.3% on a whole seed basis. The shape of the granules was round to elliptical, with granules 6–17 μm in diameter. Scanning electron micrographs revealed the presence of smooth surfaces with many granules occurring in clusters. The total amylose content was 29%, of which 5.9% was complexed by native lipids. The X-ray diffraction pattern was of the C type and the X-ray intensities were much weaker than in other legume starches. The starch exhibited a restricted two-stage swelling pattern and moderate amylose leaching. Native granules of beach pea were hydrolyzed readily by 2.2 N HCl (49% in 20 days) and porcine pancreatic α-amylase (35% in 24 h). The gelatinization temperature range was 60–64.5–74.2°C and the enthalpy of gelatinization was 1.6 cal g−1. The results showed that starch chain associations within the amorphous and crystalline domains of beach pea starch are much weaker than in grass pea and green pea starches. ©