amylum

Basic Facts:
A complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat and rice; an important foodstuff and used otherwise especially in adhesives and as fillers and stiffeners for paper and textiles.The ancient Greeks were well acquainted with starch, and its preparation "without the use of millstone" (hence the name, Amylum). The pharmacopoeial starch is derived from the seed of tge Maize, or common Indian corn plan.

Forms Found:
Amylum has two forms of molecules: amylopectin and amylose. Amylopectin is branched and amylose is unbranched.It is a carbohydrate made of glucose units hooked together by glycosidic bonds. Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. Starch is the most common form of carbohydrate in foods. Used to make some packing peanuts. Use to produce bioplastics. Amylum is produced by all green plants as an energy store.

Uses:
Amylum is found in seeds, fruits, corn, potatoes, and rice. The majority of food that consist of starch contain high amounts of amylum. Amylum can also be processed to be the sugar in processed foods. The biggest non-food use of starch is as adhesive in the paper-making process. For a single piece of paper, the starch content can be as high as 8%.

History:
Discovered to be used with association with grinding stones in Europe dating back to 30,000 years ago. Pure extracted wheat starch paste was used in Ancient Egypt possibly to glue papyrus. The extraction of starch is first described in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder around AD 77-79

Energy Store of Plants:
In photosynthesis, plants use light energy to produce glucose from carbon dioxide. The glucose is mainly stored in the form of starch granules, in plastids such as chloroplasts and especially stored in amyloplasts. Glucose molecules are bound in starch by the easily hydrolyzed alpha bonds. The same type of bond in found in the animal reserve polysaccharide glycogen. This is in contrast to many other structural polyssarcharides such as: 1. Chitin 2. Cellulose 3. Peptidoglycan