Starch: A precise account covering its multidimensional aspects
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Date
2017
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Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Abstract
Starch is the main storage carbohydrate of plants and is composed of glucose residues linked together by ? 1-4 glycosidic bonds. The starch molecule consists of a linear amylose and highly branched amylopectin. Starch forms the main energy source in human diets and is present in large quantities in our common foods like rice, wheat, maize, etc. Granule-bound starch synthase is responsible for amylose synthesis while amylopectin requires the action of starch synthases plus branching enzymes. The degradation of starch requires another set of enzymes including ?-amylase and debranching enzyme. Microorganisms can be employed to produce the starch degrading enzymes thereby yielding the high glucose and fructose syrups. Starch is a good candidate for generating electricity in microbial fuel cells. Besides, ethanol production is yet another application for energy production that can lessen the pressure on conventional petroleum-based fuels. The hydrogels and composites of starch are widely used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, agriculture and medicine especially tissue engineering. Besides the starch itself, its derivatives have a wide range of industrial applications. This chapter focuses on starch structure, synthesis, derivatives, composites, hydrogels, energy production, cosmetic and other industrial applications. ? 2017 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
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Majeed, A., Ul Rehman, W., Najar, R. A., Choudhary, S., Thakur, S., Singh, A., . . . Bhardwaj, P. (2017). Starch: A precise account covering its multidimensional aspects Natural Polymers: Derivatives, Blends and Composites (Vol. 2, pp. 37-54).