International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2017 1

Original article
Comparisons of physicochemical properties and antioxidant
activities among pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata L.) flour and
isolated starches from fresh pumpkin or flour

Phanlert Promsakha na Sakon Nakhon,1 Kamolwan Jangchud,1* Anuvat Jangchud1 &

Witoon Prinyawiwatkul2
1 Department of Product Development, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
2 School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Louisiana State University, Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
(Received 10 March 2017; Accepted in revised form 7 June 2017)

Summary Physicochemical properties (pasting and thermal properties, swelling power, water solubility and antioxi-
dant activities) and chemical composition of pumpkin flour (PF) and starches, isolated from fresh pump-
kin (SFF) or flour (SFP) were compared. SFP and SFF had similar proximate composition and amylose
content. Drying process during PF preparation modified starch properties. PF exhibited greater antioxi-
dant activities (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP), but had lower b-carotene than fresh pumpkin. SFF and SFP
had higher amylose content than PF, and exhibited a B-type X-ray diffraction pattern with spherical and
dome-like starch granules. Peak viscosity of SFP was relatively higher than that of SFF, probably due to
lower swelling power and water solubility, which indicated increased granular rigidity in the SFP starch
structure. Compared with SFF and SFP, PF had significantly higher onset (To), peak (Tp) and conclusion
(Tc) temperatures due to a lower starch content and relatively higher fibre content, which resulted in
lower gelatinisation enthalpy (DH).
Keywords Antioxidant activity, flour, physicochemical properties, pumpkin, starch.

starch (Singh et al., 2007) and yellow-pea, green-pea

Introduction
(Pisum sativum) and broad-bean (Vicia faba) flours
Starch is one of the most functional and important (Millar et al., 2017); these starches and flours are
industrial materials (Shevkani et al., 2017) and a major regarded as novel value-added ingredients for product
source of energy for humans (Mao et al., 2017). This development. Understanding their physicochemical
naturally occurring storage polymer is a useful ingredi- properties is important for effective utilisation.
ent due to its unique characteristics, availability and Many studies have been performed to evaluate
inexpensive cost. Different sources of starches affect physicochemical and nutritional properties of starch
their physicochemical properties, which, in turn, affect and flour from different sources to improve physical,
their uses in food products. In the food industry, starch chemical and nutritional quality of food products, for
is typically used as thickening, gelling and/or stabilising instance gluten-free cookies made from konjac flour
agents. The main sources of starch and flour come from and king palm flour (De Simas et al., 2009; Akesowan,
cereals, tubers and roots. Nowadays, starch and flour 2016), cakes made from tigernut (Cyperus esculentus)
from fruit crops and pulses have been the subject of flour to increase nutritional value (Chinma et al.,
many investigations, including sweetsop (Annona squa- 2010), biscuit made with sweet potato flour of differing
mosa) and soursop (Annona muricata) starches (Nwoko- colours (orange, red and white) to increase dietary
cha & Williams, 2009), apple (Malus domestica Borkh) fibre content (Mais & Brennan, 2008) and gluten-free
starch (Stevenson et al., 2006), banana (Musa caven- bread made from rice starch (Kang et al., 2015).
dishii) flour and starch (Bezerra et al., 2013), winter Pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata L.) belong to the
squash (Cucurbita maxima D.) starch (Stevenson et al., family Cucurbitacea, and their varieties include
2005), New Zealand Kamo Kamo (Cucurbita pepo) C. pepo, C. maxima and C. mixta among others.
They are popular crops grown in temperate zones in
Asia, East Africa and South America (FAO, 2015),
*Correspondent: E-mail: fagikwj@ku.ac.th

doi:10.1111/ijfs.13528
© 2017 Institute of Food Science and Technology
2 Pumpkin flour and starch P. Promsakha na Sakon Nakhon et al.

and rich in phenolic, flavonoid, vitamin (A and C), sediment was washed with 500 mL distilled water, stir-
amino acid and carbohydrate. Moreover, they are a red for 2 min and centrifuged again. After centrifuga-
good source of carotenoids and b-carotene (as a vita- tion, the resulting sediment was re-slurried in 500 mL
min A precursor). Various forms of pumpkin have distilled water, filtered through a 140-mesh sieve and a
been used as raw materials in food products. For 270-mesh sieve and centrifuged again. The obtained
example, pumpkin puree was used for preparation of starch was dried at 50 °C in a hot-air tray drier till the
jams, jelly, sweets and beverages (Dutta et al., 2006). moisture content reached 8–10%. SFP starch was iso-
Pumpkin can also be processed into flour (PF) lated from PF using a similar method as described for
(Bakirci et al., 2017), which can serve an alternative SFF.
raw material in food manufacturing because of its
high nutritional value and bioactive compounds, and
Proximate composition and b-carotene content
ease of use in further processing into variety products
such as breads (See et al., 2007), crackers (Aziah The moisture content was determined according to the
et al., 2011) and gluten-free pasta (Mirhosseini et al., AOAC method 925.10 (AOAC, 2000). The nitrogen
2015). However, its utilisation in food formulations is content was determined using the Kjeldahl method
much less compared to other types of flours from (AOAC, 2000), and the protein content was subse-
cereals, tuber and roots. Although structural and quently calculated by multiplying the nitrogen content
functional properties of starches from different vari- (%N) by 6.25. The fat content was determined using the
eties of pumpkin have been studied (Stevenson et al., Soxhlet fat extraction method following the AOAC
2005; Singh et al., 2007), very few studies, if any, method 920.39 (AOAC, 2000). The ash and dietary fibre
compare properties of pumpkin flour (PF) and contents were determined according to the AOAC
starches, isolated from fresh pumpkin (SFF) or flour method 923.03 and 985.29, respectively (AOAC, 2000).
(SFP). Drying process during PF preparation likely The b-carotene content of fresh pumpkin and PF was
modifies starch properties. determined using high-performance liquid chromatog-
Consequently, the objective of this study was to raphy (HPLC) as described by Sch€ uep & Schierle
evaluate and compare physicochemical properties (1997). Triplicate determinations were performed.
(pasting and thermal properties, swelling power, water
solubility and antioxidant activities) and chemical
Total phenolic content and antioxidant activities
composition of pumpkin flour (PF) and starches, iso-
lated from fresh pumpkin (SFF) or flour (SFP). The methanol extracts were prepared from samples
(1:10, w/v) according to the methods of Que et al.
(2008) and Barros et al. (2007) with slight modifica-
Materials and methods
tions. Briefly, the samples were soaked in a beaker
with constant stirring in a water bath at ~30 °C for
Pumpkin flour (PF) preparation and starch isolation
24 h. Then, pumpkin particles were removed by filter-
Fresh whole pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata L.), about ing. The methanol extracts were evaporated using a
2 days old after harvest, were purchased from a local rotary vacuum evaporator, and samples were
market, Bangkok, Thailand. They were washed, peeled, freeze-dried. The crude extract powders were kept
seeded and cut into 0.5-cm-thick slices using a food pro- refrigerated until used for determination of their total
cessor (Combimax 600, Braun GmbH, Kronberg, Ger- phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The total
many). The sliced pumpkins were dried in a hot-air tray phenolic content was determined in triplicate using the
dryer (BWS-model, Frecon, Bangkok, Thailand) at Folin–Ciocalteu method according to Adom & Liu
50 °C for 24 h. After drying, the moisture content of (2005) and Boateng et al. (2008). Antioxidant activities
dried pumpkin was 9–12%. The dried pumpkin slices were determined in triplicate using the ABTS (Re
were ground in a blender (NC 4695; NESCO, Two Riv- et al., 1999; Bravo et al., 2013), DPPH (Ozgen et al.,
ers, WI, USA) to pass through a 60-mesh sieve. PF was 2006) and FRAP (Benzie & Strain, 1996) methods.
kept at room temperature (30 °C) in vacuum-packed,
laminated aluminium foil before analysis.
Starch and amylose contents
SFF starch was isolated from fresh pumpkin follow-
ing the method described by P
erez et al. (2005) with The starch yield was determined as a percentage of the
slight modifications. Freshly sliced pumpkin (100 g) isolated starch relative to the initial sample weight.
was ground for 2 min using a high-speed blender (NC The starch content of PF, SFF and SFP was deter-
4695; NESCO) with 500 mL of 0.05 N NaOH solu- mined in triplicate using the glucoamylase method
tion, and stirred for 2 h. The slurry was filtered (AACC, 1990) where glucose, liberated by the action
through a muslin cloth and 100-mesh sieve, consecu- of the enzyme on starch, was measured using glucose
tively, and centrifuged at 2772 g for 15 min. The oxidase. The amylose content was determined in

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2017 © 2017 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 Pumpkin flour and starch P. Promsakha na Sakon Nakhon et al. 3

triplicate using the amperometic titration with potas- using a Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA-4D Newport Sci-
sium iodate solution according to the methods of entific, Narrabeen, NSW, Australia). According to the
Takeda et al. (1987) and Gibson et al. (1997). operation manual of the Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA-
4D), the typical moisture basis is set at 14% w/w to
obtain the best results. Therefore, sample slurry (14%
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
w/w) was prepared by mixing 3.5 g of starch or flour,
Scanning electron micrographs of PF, SFF and SFP with 25 g of distilled water, heated from 50 to 95 °C
were taken using a scanning electron microscope at an increasing rate of 12°C min1, held at 95 °C for
(JOEL, JSM-5600 LV, Tokyo, Japan). The samples 2.5 min and then cooled to 50 °C at the same rate.
were mounted on an aluminium stub using double-side The total cycle time was 13 min.
adhesive tape and coated with thin gold film. Magnifi- The thermal properties of PF, SFF and SFP were
cation was adjusted to 20 000 9. analysed using a differential scanning calorimeter
(DSC; 822e, Mettler–Toledo GmbH, Switzerland).
Each sample was mixed with distilled water (1:3 w/v)
X-ray diffraction (XRD) and degree of crystallinity (%)
and allowed to disperse and equilibrate at 25 °C for
X-ray diffractograms of SFF and SFP were taken 1 h using a magnetic stirrer to ensure complete hydra-
using an X-ray diffractometer (Bruker AXS model D8 tion of the sample. The dispersed sample (~15 mg) was
Discover, Karlsruhe, Germany) under the following weighed in an aluminium pan and hermitically sealed
conditions: X-ray tube, Cu; voltage, 40 kV; and cur- before analysis. The sample pan was heated at a rate
rent, 40 mA. SFF and SFP were scanned through 2h of 5°C min1 from 5 to 100 °C. The DSC parameters
of 4–30° with a step size of 0.02° and a sample interval were reported as the onset temperature (To), peak tem-
of 0.5 s per step. The degree of crystallinity (%) was perature (Tp) and conclusion temperature (Tc). The
calculated following the method of Stevenson et al. gelatinisation enthalpy (ΔH) was measured from
(2005) as shown in eqn (1): endotherms and expressed on a basis of dry material
(J/g dry sample).
Crystallinityð%Þ ¼ ½Ac =ðAc þ Aa Þ  100 ð1Þ
where Ac = the crystalline area on the X-ray diffrac- Statistical analysis
togram and Aa = the amorphous area on the X-ray
diffractogram. All data were analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA)
using the statistical package SPSSÒ version 12.0 (SPSS
Thailand Co., Ltd., Bangkok, Thailand). The Dun-
Water solubility index (WSI) and swelling power (SP) can’s New Multiple Range Test was performed for
WSI and SP of SFF and SFP were determined in trip- post hoc multiple comparisons. Statistically significant
licate according to the methods of Li & Yeh (2001). difference was established at P ≤ 0.05.
Each sample (0.1 g, W0) was weighed into a centrifuge
tube mixed with 10 mL deionised water and incubated Results and discussion
at 55 °C, 65 °C, 75 °C, 85 °C or 95 °C in a water bath
for 30 min with frequent vortex mixing at 2-min inter- Chemical composition and morphological characteristics
vals. The centrifuge tubes were cooled to room tem-
perature and centrifuged (6860 g) for 15 min at 25 °C. The chemical composition of fresh pumpkin, PF and
The supernatant was transferred into an aluminium their starches (SFF and SFP) are presented in Table 1.
can and dried in a hot-air oven at 100 °C until con- The composition of PF was similar to that reported by
stant weight (W1) was attained. The sediments were See et al. (2007). The protein and fat contents of fresh
weighed (W2) after the complete removal of the super- pumpkin (12.02% and 8.58%, db, respectively) were
natants. WSI and SP were calculated using eqns (2) higher than those of PF (10.88% and 6.74%, db,
and (3), respectively. respectively; Table 1). The lower protein content of PF
was likely due to degradation of amino acids from
WSIð%Þ ¼ ðW1 =W0 Þ  100 ð2Þ changes in protein structure during drying process
(50 °C for 24 h). Miranda et al. (2010) reported that
SPðgg1 Þ ¼ W2 =½W0  ð100  WSIÞ ð3Þ
dehydration caused a loss of 10% protein of quinoa
due to denaturation or release of amino acids after
protein denaturation which could react with reducing
Pasting and thermal properties
sugars to form melanoidines via the Maillard reaction.
PF, SFF and SFP having particle size that passed These authors also hypothesised that the decreased fat
through a 100-mesh sieve were used for pasting profile content could be due to enzymatic hydrolysis or lipid
determination, which was determined in triplicate oxidation during thermal process (40–80 °C). The fat

© 2017 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2017
4 Pumpkin flour and starch P. Promsakha na Sakon Nakhon et al.

Table 1 Proximate composition, starch,

Pumpkin amylose, b-carotene and total phenolic
Composition Fresh pumpkin flour (PF) SFF SFP contents and antioxidant activity of fresh
pumpkin, pumpkin flour and its starches
Moisture (% wb) 87.78a  0.15 9.69bc  0.05 10.15b  0.37 10.52b  0.26
Protein (% db) 12.02a  0.55 10.88b  1.28 0.04c  0.00 0.03c  0.02
Fat (% db) 8.58a  0.70 6.74b  0.11 0.08c  0.12 0.07c  0.14
Crude fibre (% db) 8.77a  0.55 9.03a  0.55 1.54c  0.29 1.89b  0.51
Ash (% db) 6.16a  0.41 5.91b  0.04 0.06c  0.05 0.14c  0.02
Starch yield (% db) NA NA 8.13b  0.83 13.16a 1.27
Starch content (% db) NA 25.10b 0.32 89.73a  0.43 91.04a  0.09
Amylose content (% db) NA 1.77b 0.19 12.66a  0.03 12.61a  0.28
b-carotene (mg/100 g db) 10.64 7.56 ND ND
Total phenolic 115.12b 0.56 141.12a  8.35 ND ND
(mg GAE/100 g db)
Antioxidant activity
DPPH (mg GAE/100 g db) 77.22b  0.27 98.92a  0.95 ND ND
ABTS (mg GAE/100 g db) 78.16b  1.41 95.60a  0.44 ND ND
FRAP (mg FeSO4/100 g db) 423.19b  8.48 482.22a  8.35 ND ND

SFF, starch from fresh pumpkin; SFP, starch from PF; NA, not analyzed; ND, not detected; wb,
wet weight basis; db, dry weight basis.
Means  SD of triplicate measurements.
Means within the same row with different letters are significantly different (P ≤ 0.05).

content decreased with increasing drying temperature carotenoids was found at temperatures between 40 and
for sweet potato flours, which might be due to lipid 50 °C (Pott et al., 2003).
oxidation (Ahmed et al., 2010). The ash content of The scanning electron micrographs of PF, SFF and
fresh pumpkin (6.16% db) was slightly higher than SFP are shown in Fig. 1a–c. SFF, SFP and PF gran-
that of PF (5.91% db; Table 1). However, Ahmed ules were spherical and dome-shaped, with the granule
et al. (2010) reported no significant differences in the size range of 1–10 lm. The granular structure of PF
ash (on dry basis) content of sweet potato flours at was very compact with rough surface, which might be
different drying temperatures. due to lipid–protein complexes (Fig. 1a). The shape
In the present study, the SFP starch yield (13.16%) and size of PF, SFF and SFP granules were similar to
from PF was about 5% higher than that (8.13%) of those of winter squash (Cucurbita maxima D.) and
SFF isolated from fresh pumpkin (Table 1). The lower Kamo Kamo (Cucurbita pepo) (Stevenson et al., 2005;
starch yield in SFF was perhaps due to the high mois- Singh et al., 2007).
ture content (87.78%) in fresh pumpkin which diluted
the alkaline solution (NaOH) concentration during
Total phenolic content and antioxidant activities
starch isolation, resulting in a lower starch yield.
According to Lee et al. (2007), an alkaline solution at The total phenolic content and antioxidant activities
a higher pH (9.5) yielded a higher starch content than (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP) of SFF and SFP were not
at a lower pH (8.0). Amylose content is one of the detected because protein, lipid and other nutrients
important components affecting the quality of flour- were removed during starch isolation process. The
or starch-based product. The amylose content of PF total phenolic content of PF was significantly
was 1.77%, which was much lower than that of SFF (P ≤ 0.05) higher than that of fresh pumpkin (141.12
(12.66%) and SFP (12.61%). Carotenoids are dietary vs. 115.12 mgGAE/100 g db, respectively, Table 1).
sources of vitamin A precursor and are responsible for This was likely due to its release from cellular tissue
pumpkin colour. The b-carotene content of the fresh breakdown during the grinding and drying processes.
pumpkin and PF was 10.64 and 7.56 mg/100 g db, Chang et al. (2006) explained that food processing
respectively (Table 1). The b-carotene content of fresh steps could promote release of bound phenolic com-
pumpkin (Table 1) was found to be higher than previ- pounds from the breakdown of plant cellular con-
ously reported in other pumpkin varieties (3.1–5.4 mg/ stituents, and thus be more available for extraction.
100 g) studied by Murkovic et al. (2002). The loss of The antioxidant activities were positively affected by
b-carotene in PF was possibly caused by thermal the drying process during PF preparation. Unlike the
processing (Mosha et al., 1997) and increasing b-carotene content, increases in DPPH, ABTS and
lipoxygenase activity during the drying process in PF FRAP values of PF were observed compared to the
preparation. This enzymatic degradation of fresh pumpkin (Table 1); this can be simply due to an

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2017 © 2017 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 Pumpkin flour and starch P. Promsakha na Sakon Nakhon et al. 5

greatly increases browning reactions and the rate of

(a) brown pigment formation (Abano et al., 2011). In our
current study, drying of sliced pumpkin to obtain PF
was done at 50 °C, which might have promoted some
browning reaction development, leading to an increase
in antioxidant activity. According to Abano et al.
(2011) and Cern^ısßev (2010), the browning reaction
occurred during drying of tomatoes at 50–60 °C. In
addition, drying temperature of 50–90 °C caused an
increase in antioxidant activity in red pepper and
pumpkin flour by non-enzymatic browning reaction
(Que et al., 2008; Vega-G
alvez et al., 2009). Collec-
tively, results (Table 1) demonstrated that PF has
potential as a functional health ingredient due to its b-
(b) carotene, total phenolic compounds and antioxidant
activities.

Pasting properties, water solubility index (WSI) and

swelling power (SP)
Generally, all RVA pasting property parameters (ex-
cept the pasting temperature) of PF were lower than
those of SFF and SFP (Table 2). This was attributed
to the higher protein, fibre and fat contents in PF
(Table 1), resulting in a lower concentration of starch
in PF (Table 1). Although the peak viscosity of PF
was lower than that of SFF and SFP, the pasting tem-
perature of PF was higher (68.56 °C vs. 62.83–
(c) 64.60 °C). This was possibly due to the interaction
between amylose and lipid or protein in PF that
formed amylose–lipid or amylose–protein complexes,
resulting in decreased pasting properties but increased
pasting temperature (Dautant et al., 2007; Marcoa &
Rosell, 2008).
The pasting properties of SFF and SFP were differ-
ent because SFP was probably undergone an annealing
process during the drying process (50 °C for 24 h) for
PF preparation before starch isolation. Fresh pumpkin

Table 2 Pasting properties of pumpkin flour and its starches

Figure 1 Scanning electron micrographs of (a) pumpkin flour, Viscosity Parameter SFF SFP PF
(b) starch from fresh pumpkin and (c) starch from pumpkin flour
Peak viscosity (RVU) 358.15b  4.76 368.53a  3.35 38.91c  1.22
(20 000 9; a scale bar = 10 µm).
Trough 298.65b  5.58 347.03a  5.01 37.19c  1.13
viscosity (RVU)
Breakdown (RVU) 59.49a  5.85 21.50b  4.95 1.70c  0.28
increase in total phenolic contents in PF (Table 1). Final viscosity (RVU) 439.88b  6.02 446.23a  4.70 58.55c  1.59
Teow et al. (2007) reported that the increased total Setback from 141.22a  4.65 99.20b  6.52 21.36c  0.47
phenolic compounds increased antioxidant activities in trough (RVU)
sweet potatoes. Antioxidant activity and total phenolic Pasting 62.83c  0.03 64.60b  0.06 68.56a  0.10
compounds can also be enhanced by development of temperature (°C)

new antioxidants during heating. For example, mela- SFF, starch from fresh pumpkin; SFP, starch from pumpkin flour; PF,
noidins in food occur from heating, resulting in dehy- pumpkin flour.
dration, degradation and condensation of amino acids Means  SD of triplicate measurements.
with reducing sugars (Martins et al., 2000; Yilmaz & Means within the same row with different letters are significantly dif-
Toledo, 2005). Generally, high-temperature drying ferent (P ≤ 0.05)

© 2017 Institute of Food Science and Technology International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2017
6 Pumpkin flour and starch P. Promsakha na Sakon Nakhon et al.

had a high moisture content (87.78%), which also SP of both SFF and SFP slightly increased between
favoured an annealing process. According to Jacobs & 55 and 65 °C but rapidly increased at >65 °C
Delcour (1998), annealing is involved in heat treatment (Fig. 2a). WSI of SFF and SFP exhibited a similar
with excess water (>60% w/w) at below the gelatinisa- trend (Fig. 2b). At 85 and 95 °C, SP and WSI of SFF
tion onset temperature (To) and To of PF was were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher than those of SFP
71.81 °C (Table 3). In general, annealing leads to an which could be a result of annealing effects. Annealing
increase in pasting temperature and thermal stability, has been shown to reduce starch granular swelling and
but a decrease in peak viscosity and final viscosity increase starch granule rigidity (Jayakody & Hoover,
(Jayakody & Hoover, 2008). However, the peak and 2008), which, in turn, reduced SP and WSI (Ade-
final viscosities of SFP were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) bowale & Lawal, 2002). Additionally, the lower solu-
higher than those of SFF; this could possibly be due bility of SFP was due to the amylose leaching.
to an increase in starch granule rigidity and shear
resistance, which caused higher peak viscosity (Jacobs
X-ray diffraction pattern and crystallinity
et al., 1995). The setback viscosity of SFP (99.20
RVU) was lower than that of SFF (141.22 RVU), The X-ray diffraction patterns of SFF and SFP are
which could also be due to the rigidity of starch gran- shown in Fig. 3. SFF and SFP exhibited peaks at
ules and the amount of amylose leaching out into the diffraction angles 2h around 5.6°, 15.0°, 17.0° and
solution (Sandhu & Singh, 2007). 22.3°, showing a B-type diffraction pattern similar to
Table 3 Thermal properties of pumpkin
Thermal property parameters flour and its starches as determined by
Crystalline
DSC and degree of crystallinity (%)
Sample To (°C) Tp (°C) Tc (°C) DH (J g1 db) content (%)

SFF 63.15c  0.23 67.23c  0.05 72.00c  0.22 17.98a  0.69 13.35
SFP 64.31b  0.12 68.46b  0.13 72.91b  0.37 17.96a  0.50 13.69
PF 71.81a  0.12 75.66a  0.17 79.37a  0.22 4.10b  0.12 8.63

SFF, starch from fresh pumpkin; SFP, starch from pumpkin flour; PF, pumpkin flour; To, onset
temperature; Tp, peak temperature; Tc, conclusion temperature; DH, gelatinisation enthalpy (J/g
dry basis).
Means  standard deviations from triplicate measurements.
Means within the same column with different letters are significantly different (P ≤ 0.05).

Figure 2 Swelling power and water solubil-

ity patterns of starch from fresh pumpkin
(SFF) and starch from pumpkin flour (SFP).

Figure 3 Representative of X-ray diffrac-

tion patterns of starch from fresh pumpkin
(SFF) and starch from pumpkin flour (SFP).

International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2017 © 2017 Institute of Food Science and Technology
 Pumpkin flour and starch P. Promsakha na Sakon Nakhon et al. 7

that of winter squash (C. maxima D.) studied by Collectively, SFP could be applied to improve the tex-
Stevenson et al. (2005). The degree of crystallinity of ture of food products by functioning as a stabiliser,
SFF (13.35%) and SFP (13.69%) was higher than that thickener and/or filler, but more research is needed to
in PF (8.63%) (Table 3). The lower degree of crys- confirm its applications.
tallinity of PF was probably caused by the presence of
other non-starch components (protein, fat, crude fibre
and ash; shown in Table 1) (Pelissari et al., 2012; Acknowledgments
Wang et al., 2015). Financial support from the National Research Council
of Thailand (NRCT) and Kasetsart University, Bang-
Thermal properties kok, Thailand, is gratefully acknowledged.
The onset (To), peak (Tp) and conclusion (Tc) temper-
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