INFLUÊNCIA DE DIFERENTES TEORES DE DEXTRANA E AMIDO EM AÇÚCAR CRISTAL NA FORMAÇÃO DE FLOCOS EM SOLUÇÕES ÁCIDAS CARBONATADAS E SOLUÇÕES ALCOÓLICAS

Abstract

Several investigations have been performed to determine the influence of the sugarcane composition in the quality of its products, especially crystal sugar. There is interest in studies about dextran and starch to be causative agents of major problems during the processing of sugarcane and also to be related to the appearance of flakes or precipitated in alcoholic drinks and acidic carbonated beverage. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the influence of these polysaccharides in the formation of flakes in acidic carbonated and alcoholic solutions. Samples of crystal sugar (n = 21) produced in the central-southern Sao Paulo state were analyzed for quantification of dextran and starch and values between 15.39 ± 0.38 and 830.25 ± 2.58 mg/kg and between 49.11 and 299.92 ± 1.14 ± 1.05 mg/kg were found for dextran and starch, respectively. The test evaluated the formation of flake in alcoholic solution at 55 and 89 % v/v ethanol. The 55 % v/v ethanol was performed to read the absorbance of the samples and values between 0.018 ± 0.001 and 1.063 ± 0.010 NTU were found. For the 89 % v/v ethanol solution the formation of flakes in the first 15 hours of storage the test solution was observed. There was reduction of starch content in solution with the methodology used by alcoholic flake and the reduction varied between 13.78 and 34.15 %. The test evaluated the formation of acid flake following the standard methodology and modification of the method by using a 0.8 μm filter for removal of starch. The turbidity readings were lower when using the modified method. The results obtained for the solutions tested according to standard methodology ranged from 3.72 ± 0.17 to 33.46 ± 6.31 NTU and by using the modified method they were between 1.94 ± 0.08 and 10.97 ± 1.04 NTU. All tests showed that dextran and starch present in the samples of crystal sugar show a positive correlation with the results of acid flake and alcohol flake. The formation of these two types of flakes were also interdependent (has a relation).