THERMAL TOOL IN THE EVALUATION OF THE “PINHÃO” (SEED OF Araucaria angustifolia) STARCH AIMED AGROINDUSTRIAL PROCESS

“Pinhao” is an important source of food for inhabitants in the subtropical region of South America. Gelatinization temperatures for “pinhao” are smaller than for corn and cassava starches, bringing advantages in industrial processes. The “pinhao” starches of the 4 different provenances were subjected to dilutions of 1:4, 1:5 e 1:6, in water. The starches were evaluated using DSC to determine gelatinization characteristics of them. The results showed that the source and dilutions have influence in the gelation process of the starch.