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Starch is an essential component of human nutrition, providing a primary source of energy. During digestion, enzymes break down starch into glucose units. These glucose molecules circulate in the bloodstream and serve as an energy source. Starch products, such as glucose and fructose syrups, are widely used to sweeten food and beverages including soft drinks, fruit drinks, beer, and other alcoholic beverages.
Beyond the food industry, starch and its derivatives have numerous additional applications:
Pet food: The high protein content of starch co-products makes them an excellent meat substitute in pet food. Native and modified starches are also used as binders and thickeners.
Paper industry: Starch products are applied in paper bags, tissue papers, packaging paper, corrugated board, and stationery. Typical applications include wet-end addition, size press processes, and surface coating.
Pharmaceutical industry: Starches play multiple roles in pharmaceutical products, from binders to sugar-free sweeteners, and are used in products such as toothpaste, tablets, emulsions, lotions, liquid medicines, and creams.
Quality control in these industries often requires accurate determination of starch content. The most precise method is the measurement of optical rotation.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 10520:1997 defines the determination of native starch content using polarimetry. This standard was introduced by E. Ewers in 1997. It specifies a polarimetric method for determining the starch content of native starch, excluding starches with a high amylose content.
The UniPol and the Polartronic V by SCHMIDT + HAENSCH are suitable and reliable instruments for measuring starch content in accordance with the ISO standard. The iPR FR process refractometer by SCHMIDT + HAENSCH can also be used for inline starch content determination.
Polarimeters operate using polarized light. Starch solutions rotate plane-polarized light and are therefore optically active. Starch is a white, granular organic substance produced by all green plants. Most commercial starch is derived from corn, but wheat, tapioca, rice, and potatoes are also commonly used sources.
