Starch reserve

Certain stored foodstuffs are living organisms and give off heat as their sugar or starch reserves are slowly consumed. This is known as the heat of respiration, since the products consume oxygen for the... 

It is now supposed that gibberellic acid stimulates the hormonal production of a-amylase (and, probably, of /9-amylase and others) in the aleurone layer surrounding the endosperm starch-reserve. Gibberellic acid released 400 mg. equivalents of D-glucose per g. in 90 hours in wheat grains, with a maximum hydrolytic activity after 60 hours. The effect on /9-amylase was thought to be a release (to the extent of 85%) from the protein-bound, insoluble form.876... 

In the germination of cereal seeds, it was long known by brewers that if the embryo was excised (or dead) the endosperm would not be hydrolyzed and sugars would not be released. In 1960, Paleg showed that amylolytic activity in the embryo-less half could be fully restored in the presence of gibberellin. In other words, the substance that passed from the embryo to the endosperm (or rather, to the living cells of the aleurone layer that encloses the dead endosperm) induces there the synthesis of a-amylase which is responsible for hydrolysis of the stored starch reserves held in the endosperm. The extent to which the a-amylase was induced became another bioassay for gibberellin. 

Typical mature roots have different shapes (conical, conical-cylindrical, cylindrical, fusiform) and different sizes (3 to 15 centimeters in diameter), depending on variety, age and growth conditions. The color of the outer peel varies from white to dark brown. The cross-section of cassava roots shows the two major components which are the peel and the central pith (Figure 12.1). The peel is composed of the outer layer (called the periderm) and the inner layer (called the cortical region or cortex), which contains sclerenchyma, cortical parenchyma and phloem tissue. The large central pith of the roots is the starch-reserve flesh, comprised of cambium and parenchyma tissue and xylem vessels. 

Starch is the most economically important reserve polysaccharide in the plant kingdom and is in addition the major source of carbohydrates in human nutrition. In contrast to non-starch reserve polysaccharides, which are outside the cell and the plasmalemma, starch is located in the so-called plastids or in vacuoles within the plant cells [1f In seeds, the highest starch content can be found in the endosperm, whereas its content in the embryo and the pericarp is very low. In general, the starch content of seeds or fruits varies with the degree of maturation121. Starch occurs in semicrystalline form in granules. The size and the shape of the granules is dependent on the plant species and may reach about 175 mm. 

GA—these are limit dextrinase and a-glucosidase [47]. The significance of these enzymes in the hydrolysis of starch reserves is discussed in Chapter 6. jS-Amylase is not synthesized de novo in the presence or absence of GA, but is carried over in an inactive form from the developing grain. It may be activated indirectly by GA through induction of a proteinase which releases it from its inactive bound form (Chap. 6). 

Interfering with fatty acid catabolism is also known to increase the TAG content of leaves. Leaves of Arabidopsis mntant plants with compromised peroxisomal ABC-transporter 1 (PXAl) activity accnmnlated significant levels of TAG, especially under conditions of extended darkness where transitory starch reserves were depleted (Kunz et al, 2009). PXAl mediates the uptake of fatty acids into peroxisomes where 3-oxidation occurs. Under darkness, the increased requirement for respiratory carbon comes from release of esterified fatty acids. Inactivation of fatty acid transport into the peroxisome results in accumulation of fatty acids in TAG. Arabidopsis mutants defective in peroxisomal p-oxidation were also shown to accumulate TAG in leaves (Slocombe et al., 2009). 

Although most seeds contain starch as the principal food reserve, many contain other polysaccharides and some have industrial utility. The first seed gums used commercially were quince, psyUium, flax, and locust bean gum. However, only locust bean gum is stiU used, particularly in food appHcations quince and psyllium gums are only used in specialized appHcations. 

Starch [9005-25-8] the main reserve food of plants, constitutes two-thirds of the carbohydrate caloric intake of most humans but only 47% of... 

In this chapter we describe the use of pea seeds to express the bacterial enzyme a-amylase. Bacterial exoenzymes like the heat stable a-amylase from Bacillus licheni-formis are important for starch hydrolysis in the food industry. The enzymatic properties of a-amylase are well understood [13,14], it is one of the most thermostable enzymes in nature and it is the most commonly used enzyme in biotechnological processes. Although fermentation in bacteria allows highly efficient enzyme production, plant-based synthesis allows in situ enzymatic activity to degrade endogenous reserve starch, as shown in experiments with non-crop plants performed under greenhouse conditions [12,15]. Finally, the quantitative and sensitive detection of a-amylase activ-... 

The first step in glycolysis is the phosphorylation of glucose to give the ester glucose 6-phosphate. The glucose starting material may well have come from hydrolysis of starch obtained in the diet, or by utilization of glycogen reserves. 

The starches, the most important vegetable reserve carbohydrate and polysaccharides from plant cell walls, are discussed in greater detail on the following page. Inulin, a fructose polymer, is used as a starch substitute in diabetics dietary products (see p.l60). In addition, it serves as a test substance for measuring renal clearance (see p.322). 

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