John Ekow Eshun

Starch Modification and Its Effects on Physicochemical Properties: is Acetylation the New Frontier in Advancing the Many Uses of Corn Starch? John Ekow Eshun

Several different domestic and industrial demands for starch rank this biopolymer among essential biomaterials relevant to economic advancement globally. Starch is widely applied in food, textile, pharmaceutical, paper, synthetic polymer industries and plays prominent role even in technological developments. Starch serves as the primary energy reserve in plants. This book expound on the effects of sucrose on the physicochemical properties of acetylated corn starch. Starch isolated from corn varieties including Abeleehi; Dorke SR; Obaatanpa; Okomasa are subjected to chemical modification using acetic anhydride. Acetylation treatment and addition of sucrose substantially changes the physicochemical properties of corn starches. The extent of change induced is dependent on the concentration of sucrose present. Sucrose reduces retrogradation, peak viscosity, pasting stability, water binding capacity and gelation of acetylated corn starches. On the other hand, swelling power and solubility are increased. The higher the sugar concentration, the greater the effect of increase or decrease on a particular physicochemical property. Varietal differences also accounted for the changes observed.