ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews chemical modification, characterization and function properties of modified pearl millet starch. Millet starches typically have polygonal and spherical starch granules. The process of starch modification is recasting and remodeling the basic structure of starch by creating an impact on the hydrogen bond in a regulatory manner. Chemical modification is commercially carried out to overcome the inherent deficiencies of native starch, i.e., higher retrogradation, which results in developing an extensive cohesive gel with elevated syneresis. Chemical modifications of starch include oxidation, cross-linking; and dual modification are commonly practiced. Dilute conditions are best forms that are used for chemical modification of starches. Wattanachant et al. reported that, to obtain a very appreciable effect, the very low degree of cross-linking reaction with C3H5ClO made it difficult to determine the DS directly and earlier reported the characterization of cross-linked starch and its quality control are dependent on the measurement of physical properties.
