Use of High-Performance Size-Exclusion Chromatography for Characterization of Amylose Isolated from Diverse Botanical Sources

Amyloses were isolated from diverse botanical sources (apple, mango, maize, and potato), and they were studied in their molecular characteristics (amylose content, molar mass, and molecular weight) using high-performance size-exclusion chromatography as a repetitive and faster protocol. The amylose purity ranged between 85.6–92.6 %, in agreement with the λ ₘₐₓ values (601–610 nm), showing that some impurities with molecules of higher molar mass (amylopectin) were present. The standard curve of pullulan showed a high regression coefficient (0.998) inside of the limits of molar mass of amylose. Chromatograms of amylose showed the presence of components of high molar mass with a principal peak that corresponds to amylose. Molar mass of amylose ranged between 1.2 and 8.5 × 10 ⁵ g/mol with polydispersity values between 1.3–4.1, indicating a narrow range of molar mass distribution of the amyloses analyzed. The high-performance size-exclusion chromatography coupled with a refractive index methodology used in this study may be considered simple and rapid for molecular studies of amylose.