Physicochemical and pasting properties of rice starches from soft rice varieties developed by endosperm mutation breeding

The soft rice varieties, Hangaru and Singil, were developed via mutation breeding using N-methyl-N-nitrosourea treatment to obtain dry-milled rice flours. The physicochemical, morphological, and pasting properties of these starches were compared with those of Seolgaeng and Chuchung starches. Singil starch was found to exhibit the highest amylose content and initial pasting temperature, whereas Hangaru starch exhibited the highest water binding capacity and swelling power. Hangaru starch’s granule size at d₅₀ was the largest among the four different starch types. Some Seolgaeng, Hangaru, and Singil granules were observed to have a round-faced polygon shape. Furthermore, the crystallinity of all four starch types was type A. The peak, trough, and final viscosities of the soft rice starches were also lower than those of normal starches. Notably, Hangaru starch showed the highest breakdown viscosity, but the lowest total setback viscosity among the four starches. From these results, the starch characteristics of the soft rice flours were discovered to be different based on the rice variety.