Physicochemical Characterization and Properties of Cassava Starch: A Review

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a tuber and one of the most important sources of commercial production in the world, with high consumed food produced in the tropics contributing to high quantity of calories to the diet. The principal component of the cassava root is starch, a polysaccharide composed of amylose and amylopectin, where the physicochemical property of the biopolymer is altered in different cooking processes. This review summarizes and provides information about cassava starch structure, morphology, and physicochemical properties, such as gelatinization, pasting, and retrogradation of cassava starch, as well as the use of methods of characterization to follow and analyze the physical and chemical changes of cassava starch.