The banana, the largest herbaceous plant in the world, grown abundantly in many countries is considered to be one of the most important sources of energy for people. Due to high starch concentration, banana processing into flour and starch is of interest in view of a possibly important resource for food and other industrial purposes. The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of green fruits of seven banana genotypes, and evaluate the content of amylose, pasting and thermal properties of starches. Results showed significant differences to chemical composition with higher level of starch in cultivar Figo cinza. The amylose content ranged from 26.68 to 33.95%. Starches analysis showed pasting properties with high cold peak and breakdown, with retrogradation tendency to all genotypes. The thermal properties showed one endoderm. The gelatinization temperature was in range of 60 to 73ºC with DH ranged from 11.6 to 16.99 J g-1 in gelatinization and 4.11 to 7.97 J g-1 in retrogradation.
Musa sp; fruits; thermal properties; viscosity
