Bioinspired Materials Science and Engineering

8Starch and Plant Storage Polysaccharides

Francisco Vilaplana^1,2, Wei Zou^2,3, and Robert G. Gilbert^2,3,*

¹ Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri‐Product Safety, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou Jiangsu Province 225009, China

² KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

³ University of Queensland, Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Brisbane, Australia

8.1 Starch and Other Seed Polysaccharides: Availability, Molecular Structure, and Heterogeneity

8.1.1 Molecular Structure and Composition of Seeds and Cereal Grains

Starch and other seed polysaccharides have been essential to mankind ever since the development of agriculture, about 10 000 years ago. Their main role is to supply the largest single component of our food energy, and they also provide functional food and nutrients, many health benefits as dietary fibers, and an ever‐expanding range of materials for packaging, food processing, pharmacological applications, and many more.

Starch is the glucose storage molecule in plants. Transient starch is present in all leaves. It is synthesized during the day as a result of the photosynthetic process and degraded at night: this is transient, or transitory, starch. Storage starch is found in the storage organs of grains, legumes, and tubers, where it remains undegraded over extended periods for subsequent use in the plant, such as providing glucose for the germinating seed. Storage starch provides about half of the food ...