Enzymatically depolymerized starch

As opposed to applications where high viscosity must be maintained, some applications require starches with low viscosity. These thinned starches are produced by a variety of depolymerizing techniques. They include oxidation, thermomechanical conversion, enzymatic depolymerization, and acid- modification. A special depolymerized form of starch, dextrins, are distinct and will be discussed in a following section. Starches can be depolymerized to... 

In order to describe the kinetics of enzymatic starch depolymerization, information on reaction rate, reaction extent, and product distribution profiles are required. Traditional end-group analysis can be used to a limited extent in the first two areas, but will not provide information about the last important subject. Hence, SEC profiles can provide sufficient insight into the mechanism of starch degradation. 

Any systematic study of cell walls requires an a-D-galacturonanase to release pectic and other matrix components. Molecular structural studies have so far progressed that elaborate models showing the various polymeric constituents in juxtaposition have been generated. After enzymatic elimination of starch and protein, hydrolysis of the residual polysaccharide and estimation of the uronic acids and monosaccharides released furnish considerable information on the composition of agricultural samples. Partial depolymerization affords the complex, well-studied rhamnogalacturonans I and II (RG-I and RG-II). 

In the enzymatic conversion process the depolymerization of starch, i.e., the cleavage of the 1,4- and 1,6-bridges is performed by hydrolases, specifically by glycosidase enzymes. Naturally occurring hydrolases capable of converting starch into specific products are... 

---