Abstract: In order to provide a theoretical basis for development and utilization of tea seed starch, the granular morphology and size, gelatinization temperature, transparency, swelling strength, freeze-thaw stability, retrogradation, viscosity and other physicochemical properties of tea seed starch were measured and compared with those of corn starch. The results showed that tea seed starch granules revealed a smooth surface and were oval or round in shape and not easy to gelatinize. The solubility and swelling strength changed little with temperature. The transparency and freeze-thaw stability were inferior to those of corn starch, but opposite results were observed for the retrogradation resistance and viscosity.

Key words: tea seed, starch, physical and chemical properties