Physico-chemical and Functional Properties of Acetylated Cocoyam Starch for use as stabilizer in Tigernut drink.

This research was aimed at evaluating acetylated cocoyam starch potential as a stabilizer for tiger nut drink. Cocoyam starch extracted from native cocoyam was acetylated using acetic anhydride, and introduced at 0.2g, 0.4g, 0.6g, 0.8g levels, into 100ml tiger nut drinks. The physicochemical, structural and sensory properties were analyzed using standard methods and data was analyzed using Analysis of Variance in a Completely Randomized Design at p < 0.05. FTIR analysis showed a distinct carbonyl absorption band at 1740 cm⁻¹, confirming successful acetyl group substitution (acetylation) which significantly (p < 0.05) altered the chemical structure of the starch molecules leading to changes in its crystalline and molecular arrangement which affected the starch’s molecular interactions and structure hence, a decrease in Amylose content from 22.20 % to 17.00 %, and an increase in amylopectin content and emulsifying capacity from 77.80% to 83.00% and from 16.66% to 21.70%, respectively. Physico-chemical results showed increased viscosity of the drink from 5.5cP to 50.3cP, decreased sedimentation rate from 0.35mL/h to 0.02 mL/h and reduced syneresis from 55.0% to 9.5% with increasing acetylated starch concentration, indicating improved stability. Sample with 0.8 g/100 mL acetylated starch (Sample E) achieved the highest overall acceptability (7.50 ± 1.43) and significantly higher than other samples. The study concludes that acetylation of cocoyam starch enhances its functionality and stability potential in tigernut drink.