TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF STARCH GRANULE STRUCTURE AND HYDROLYSIS

Starch constitutes a major component of foods and also a raw material for use in the production of industrial products. The constituent macr omolecules of starch are packaged in a highly ordered and compact mann er, resulting in inert insoluble granules. Food processing destroys st arch structure, thereby releasing the component molecules, which are s ubsequently mad available for hydrolysis or serve a functional role in the food system. The application of starch as a raw material usually requires the prior disruption of the inert granule structure, which in volves additional processing steps. The hydrolysis of native granules has ramifications at all levels of the food processing chain, from pos tharvest losses to nutritional consequences of the ingested food. Tech nologists have not been able to take advantage of, or control, this pr ocess because the body of the information that is available on starch granule structure and the behaviour of hydrolysing enzymes is still in complete. In this review, I have highlighted some of the more recent a dvances in this field, with the view to opening up the way for more ef ficient native starch hydrolysis.