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It is made up of a mixture of amylose (15–20%) and amylopectin (80–85%). Amylose consists of a linear chain of several hundred glucose molecules, and Amylopectin is a branched molecule made of several thousand glucose units (every chain of 24–30 glucose units is one unit of Amylopectin). Starches are insoluble in water.
Amylopectin / ˌ æ m ɪ l oʊ ˈ p ɛ k t ɪ n / is a water-insoluble [1] [2] polysaccharide and highly branched polymer of α-glucose units found in plants. It is one of the two components of starch, the other being amylose. Relation of amylopectin to starch granule. Plants store starch within specialized organelles called amyloplasts. To ...
Like other polymers, biopolymers consist of monomeric units that are covalently bonded in chains to form larger molecules. There are three main classes of biopolymers, classified according to the monomers used and the structure of the biopolymer formed: polynucleotides , polypeptides , and polysaccharides .
A polymer is a substance composed of macromolecules. [2] A macromolecule is a molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass. [3]
Starch, consisting of two different polymers of glucose, is a readily degradable form of chemical energy stored by cells, and can be converted to other types of energy. [67] Another polymer of glucose is cellulose, which is a linear chain composed of several hundred or thousand glucose units.
Amylose A is a parallel double-helix of linear chains of glucose. Amylose is made up of α(1→4) bound glucose molecules. The carbon atoms on glucose are numbered, starting at the aldehyde (C=O) carbon, so, in amylose, the 1-carbon on one glucose molecule is linked to the 4-carbon on the next glucose molecule (α(1→4) bonds). [3]
Cellulose occurs naturally in some foods and is an additive in manufactured foods, contributing an indigestible component used for texture and bulk, potentially aiding in defecation. [ 71 ] Building material: Hydroxyl bonding of cellulose in water produces a sprayable, moldable material as an alternative to the use of plastics and resins.
Chitin is used in many industrial processes. Examples of the potential uses of chemically modified chitin in food processing include the formation of edible films and as an additive to thicken and stabilize foods and food emulsions. [28] [29] Processes to size and strengthen paper employ chitin and chitosan. [30] [31]