ABSTRACT
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... 59
References ........................................................................................................................... 59
Starch is among the most abundant of plant products, a major food reserve providing a bulk
nutrient and energy source, often at low cost, in the diet of man. Although normally referred to
in the singular, as in this article, there are in fact numerous starches that differ according to their
origins and modes of preparation; genetic modification of source crops complicates the
issue further. As with so many definitions, the concept of starch is ultimately very difficult to
define comprehensively; there are many starches differing in granular morphology, molecular
weight and composition (degree of branching of the polysaccharide macromolecules), and
physicochemical properties, that it is remarkable that a single appellation has sufficed for
many decades.
