Research Papers

Optimizing the Conditions for Starch Dry Phosphorylation

with Sodium Mono- and Dihydrogen Orthophosphate under
Heat and Vacuum
Mahmoud Z. Sitohy, Salah M. Labib,
Said S. El-Saadany, and Mohamend.
F. Ramadan, Zagazig (Egypt)
Starch was phosphorylated by reaction with mono- and disodium
hydrogen orthophosphate under dry conditions in a vacuum oven at
150-180 C (800 mbar). Studying the different factors affecting the
reaction showed that the optimal conditions for starch phosphorylation
in the monoester form were: 3 h reaction time, 160 C reaction temperature and pH 6. The different types of starch gave different degrees of

substitution; and amylose bound a higher amount of phosphate than

amylopectin under similar reaction conditions. Both ash content and
acidity of the phosphorylated starch products increased proportionally
with the increase in the degree of substitution while the pH of the
different modified starch products was nearly in the same range
(pH 6.556.75).

1 Introduction

2 Materials and Methods

Starch phosphorylation is one of the oldest techniques

used in starch modification that dates back to the beginning
of the 20th century [14]. With the development of analytical
techniques, a great number of studies on starch phosphorylation have been carried out up to now [512]. Starch phosphates may be grouped into two classes: monostarch phosphates and distarch phosphates (cross-linked starches). In
general, monoesters are produced with a higher level of
phosphate substitution on starch than are diesters [6]. Dispersions of chemically prepared starch phosphates monoesters have been reported to give clear pastes of high consistency, with good freeze-thaw stability and emulsifying
properties. These properties allow interesting food and nonfood applications of monostarch phosphates. Starch phosphate diester had been reported to be prepared in aqueous
medium using phosphorus oxychloride and/or sodium
trimetaphosphate [1, 2, 9]. In contrast starch monophosphates had been traditionally prepared by reacting dry starch
with mono- and disodium hydrogen orthophosphate under
high temperature (150160 C) in an oil bath in an open reactor exposed to both atmospheric oxygen and moisture
[48]. Both may induce undefined side reactions.
Recently, it has been reported that heat-moisture conditions might change the physicochemical properties of starch.
Moreover, starch baking performance was deteriorated by
heat-moisture treatments [13]. Finally, the presence of water
vapor and a high excess of oxygen in the reaction medium at
the high temperatures used in the traditional techniques of
dry phosphorylation might also give rise to some oxidation
reactions. Also, the aqueous medium might favor the formation of cross-linked starch phosphates [14] in the course of
the phosphorylation reaction. To avoid the occurrence of
such side reactions, to obtain phosphorylated starch in the
monoester form and favor the esterification reaction, the
phosphorylation of starch was carried out under vacuum.
The optimal conditions of this reaction were studied in the
present work as well as the chemical properties of the resulting products.

2.1 Materials

Starch/Strke 52 (2000) Nr. 4, S. 95100

Native corn starch (food grade), was kindly supplied by

the Egyptian Starch and Glucose Manufacturing Co., Mousturd factory, A.R.E. Rice, potato starches and corn amylose
were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO,
USA). Corn amylopectin was purchased from Fluka Chemie
AG, CH-9471 Buchs, Switzerland.
2.2 Methods
2.2.1 Purification of corn starch

Corn starch was purified by the method of Comer and Fry

[15].
2.2.2 Preparation of starch phosphate monoesters

Corn starch was phosphorylated using the method of

Paschall [4] except using an vacuum oven (800 mbar) instead
of the oil bath and other slight modifications as follows:
Accurate amounts of sodium dihydrogen phosphate dihydrate (NaH2PO4 2 H2O) and anhydrous disodium hydrogen
phosphate (Na2HPO4) were calculated to prepare different
molar ratios, are recorded in Tab. 1. These amounts were dissolved in 200 mL distilled water at 35 C to prepare the salt
solution for phosphorylation. The pH of the solution was
Tab. 1. Weight of sodium phosphate salts required to prepare different
molar ratio (mole phosphate/mole anhydrous glucose unit).
Molar
ratio

Weight of
sodium dihydrogen
phosphate salt [g]

Weight of
sodium hydrogen
phosphate salt [g]

Combined
weight [g]

0.5:1
1.0:1
1.5:1
2.0:1
2.5:1
3.0:1
3.5:1

30.40
60.81
91.22
121.63
152.05
182.46
212.87

16.21
32.43
48.66
64.87
81.08
97.30
113.52

46.62
93.25
139.88
186.51
233.14
279.77
326.40

WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH, D-69452 Weinheim, 2000

0038-9056/2000/0404-0095$17.50+.50/0

95

adjusted to a value between 4 and 9 using either 2.5 M NaOH

or HCl.
Starch substrate (100 g) was slurred in the salt solution
and the mixture was stirred for 10 min. The slurry was filtered with suction on a fritted glass funnel. The filter cake
was crumbled and then dried overnight below 60 C in a
forced-draft air oven. The starch-salt mixture was powdered
in a Waring Blender and dried at 65 C for 90 min in a
forced-draft air oven.
To effect phosphorylation, the dried mixture was heated
for 14 h at 150180 C in a vacuum oven. The product was
cooled and slurred in 500 mL of 50% aqueous methanol. The
mixture was stirred for 30 min.
The product was recovered on a Bchner funnel and then
dehydrated by washing with 200 mL of absolute ethanol. A
10% (w/v) paste in water was dialyzed 24 h against running
water, then 24 h against distilled water. The starch phosphate
was recovered by flocculation with acetone. The latter precipitate was recovered by vacuum filtration, and freed from
water and acetone by washing with anhydrous ethanol. This
dialyzed product was dried in a forced-draft air oven at
4045 C.
2.2.3 Determination of chemical properties of modified
and unmodified starches

Phosphorus was colorimetrically determined by the reaction with ammonium molybdate according to the method described by Murphy and Riley [16] in native and phosphorylated starch products and the DS was calculated using the
equation of Paschall [4] as follows:
DS of monosodium esters =

162P
3100102P

where P = % phosphorus (dry basis) of the phosphorylated

starch.
Ash contents were determined according to the A.O.A.C.
standard method [17].
The pH and acidity (expressed as milliequivalents of acid
per unit sample weight) of the modified starch samples were
determined according to Smith [18].

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Influence of the reaction conditions on the extent
of phosphorylation of corn starch

The amount of starch-bound phosphate increased with the

increase in reaction time. However, the rate of acceleration
began to attenuate when the reaction time was extended to
more than 3 h. Moreover, through visual observation phosphorylation for more than 3 h tended to produce brown
starch as a result of prolonged heat treatment So, a reaction
time of 3 h was considered as most appropriate for preparation of phosphorylated starch under the mentioned conditions.
The product phosphorylated for 3 h under the conditions
of the study contained 2.43% phosphorus before dialysis,
which was reduced to 2.35% after dialysis. These values are
similar to those obtained by Paschall [4] (2.6% before dialysis and 2.5%, respectively) under nearly the same conditions,
except using an air-open reactor in an oil bath instead of the
vacuum oven. Apparently the slight difference in the reaction conditions by using a vacuum oven instead of the oil
bath did not substantially affect the rate of phosphorylation.
Using a vacuum oven may be preferred to an oil bath as it
may reduce the susceptibility to some undesirable side reactions (e.g. oxidation) and limit the moisture content in the reaction medium to avoid physical alterations [13].
From the same table, it could also be noticed that by subtracting the starch phosphorus content after dialysis from the
one before dialysis for the samples prepared for 1, 2 and 3 h,
respectively, the percentage of phosphorus removed by dialysis was 9.2, 8.4, 3.3 and 4.7% of the total phosphorus content determined before dialysis. This indicates that the washing efficiency increased by increasing the reaction time. This
may be due to the fact that free salt was more easily removed
by washing from high-modified starches than from lowmodified ones. Starch modified for 34 h could be used for
commercial applications after washing without the need for
dialysis since the free salt accounts for only 34% of the
bound phosphate.
3.1.2 Reaction temperature

The influence of the reaction temperature within a range

of 150180 C on the extent of phosphorylation of corn
starch is shown in Fig. 1. The other reaction conditions were
constant at pH 6, i.e. reaction time 2 h and 1:1 molar ratio
(mole phosphate:mole anhydrous glucose).
The total bound phosphorus content increased with the increase in reaction temperature. Starch phosphorylation at
more than 170 C tended to produce brownish products.
Higher reaction temperatures might have facilitated the
breakdown of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds between

3.1.1 Reaction time

The data recorded in Tab. 2 show the degree of phosphorylation of corn starch during 4 h reaction time at 150 C under vacuum (800 mbar), pH 6 and a molar ratio 1:1 (mole
phosphate:mole anhydrous glucose).
Tab. 2. Effect of reaction time on the degree of phosphorylation extent
of corn starch using 1:1 molar ratio (mole phosphate: mole anhydrous
glucose) and pH 6 at 150 C.
Reaction time [h]

Phosphorus [%] (B.D.)

Phosphorus [%] (A.D.)

1.51

1.37

1.78

1.63

2.43

2.35

2.71

2.58

B.D.: Before dialysis.

A.D.: After dialysis.

96

Fig. 1. Influence of the reaction temperature on the extent of corn phosphorylation. A.D.: After dialysis. B.D.: Before dialysis.
Starch/Strke 52 (2000) Nr. 4, S. 95100

Fig. 2. Effect of the reaction medium pH on the extent of phosphorylation of corn starch. A.D.: After dialysis. B.D.: Before dialysis.

Fig. 3. Influence of the molar ratio of the phosphorylating reagent

(mole phosphate: mole anhydrous glucose) on the phosphorylation extent of corn starch. A.D.: After dialysis. B.D.: Before dialysis.

the starch chains, hence allowing more reagent molecules to

approach the reactive hydroxyl groups. Moreover, it was observed that the starch paste of the product phosphorylated at
160 C was stronger than of those prepared at 150, 170 and
180 C. Thus, the reaction temperature 160 C was concluded to be the most appropriate for the phosphorylation reaction under the mentioned conditions.
In addition, the washing efficiency increased by increasing the reaction temperature and consequently the DS, because the percentage of phosphorus removed by dialysis was
6.3, 6.2, 4.0 and 3.2% for the samples prepared at 150, 160,
170 and 180 C, respectively.

Results shown in Tab. 2 and Figs. 13 are in general

agreement with previous works [4, 5, 7, 8, 15] stating that
starch phosphate monoesters with higher degree of substitution were obtained by using higher concentrations of phosphate salts, higher temperatures, longer reaction times and
pH in the range 56.5. Generally, it can be concluded from
the aforementioned results that the best reaction conditions
were 3 h reaction time, 160 C reaction temperature and pH 6
at different molar ratio.

3.1.3 Reaction pH

The data in Fig. 2 show the effect of pH on the phosphorylation of corn starch at 150 C, 2 h reaction time and a molar ratio 1:1 (mole phosphate : mole anhydrous glucose).
The obtained results revealed that the extent of phosphorylation was highest in the pH range 56 but diminished in
acidic (pH 4) and alkaline (pH 8,9) media. The best binding
of phosphate to starch occurred at pH 6. Low pH may result
in a certain degree of starch hydrolysis [4], while alkaline
pHs might affect the stability of the ester bonds formed
between the phosphate groups and the starch molecules
[19].
Calculating the percentage of phosphorus removed by
dialysis gave the values 11.0, 5.3, 5.2, 8.7, 11.5 and 52.6%
through the pH range 49, respectively. This implies that the
efficiency of the washing step was increased in the highly
modified starch (pH 5 and 6) as compared with the low-modified ones (pH 4.8 and 9).
3.1.4 Molar ratio

The influence of different molar ratios (mole phosphate :

mole anhydrous glucose) on the extent of phosphorylation at
pH level 6, 2 h reaction time and 150 C reaction temperature
is given in Fig. 3.
The results show that the amount of bound phosphate
increased with increasing molar ratio phosphate : anhydrous
glucose. This is due to the well known fact that the hydroxyl
groups of starch are immobile and their reactivity depends
on the availability of reactants to them. Hence, it is likely
that at higher reagent concentration, more reactant molecules
are available in the proximity of starch hydroxyl groups thus
giving rise to higher degrees of phosphorylation as previously envisaged by Waly et al. [10].
Starch/Strke 52 (2000) Nr. 4, S. 95100

3.1.5 Starch type

Phosphorus contents as well as the corresponding levels

of DS in native and phosphorylated starches (corn, rice,
potato, corn amylose and corn amylopectin) prepared using
different molar ratios of the reagent are presented in Tab. 3.
The data indicate that the average values of natural phosphorus was 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06% in native corn, rice and potato
starch, respectively. These values agree with those of Lim
[11] who reported that normal cereal starches contained
phosphorus at a level of 0.020.06% (dry weight basis),
mainly in the form of phospholipids. The data are also in
agreement with finding of Lim and Seib [12] who mentioned
that total phosphorus content (found in the form of phosphate monoesters) in native potato starch was 0.036
0.092%. On the other hand, it was observed that total phosphorus content of unmodified corn amylopectin (0.013%)
was higher than that of unmodified corn amylose (0.002%).
This may be due to the fact that natural phosphate in the
starch is covalently bonded to glucose units, mostly in the
amylopectin fraction [20].
Generally, total bound phosphorus in the modified starches was gradually increased by increasing the molar ratio of
the reagent as a result of increasing the amount of reactants
available to the hydroxyl groups.
It is remarkable that the percentage of phosphorus bound
to corn starch at the first used molar ratios (0.5:1) was higher (1.55%) than that bound to rice starch (1.30%) or potato
starch (1.19%). However, at higher molar ratios, the fraction
of phosphorus bound to rice starch was higher than that
bound to other starches. There are two factors that may affect
the extent of phosphorylation; the molar ratio between amylose and amylopectin and the starch granular size [21]. At
low molar ratios (mole phosphate: mole anhydrous glucose),
phosphorus bound to corn starch was relatively high as corn
starch contains a higher percentage of amylose than the other two types of starches [22]. On the other hand, at high mo97

Tab. 3. Total phosphorus content and degree of substitution of unmodified and phosphorylated starches.
Molar ratio

Corn starch

Rice starch

Potato starch

Corn amylose

Corn amylopectin

Phosphorus [%]

0.0:1
0.5:1
1.0:1
1.5:1
2.0:1
2.5:1
3.0:1
3.5:1

B.D.

A.D.

B.D.

A.D.

B.D.

A.D.

B.D.

A.D.

B.D.

A.D.

0.02
1.67
3.06
3.34
3.56
3.79
4.24
4.59

0.02
1.55
2.99
3.16
3.29
3.43
4.05
4.18

0.04
1.41
3.10
3.61
4.00
4.44
4.97
5.51

0.04
1.30
2.89
3.42
3.73
4.27
4.70
5.26

0.06
1.23

3.49

4.38

0.06
1.20

3.36

4.23

0.00
2.07

3.77

4.68

0.00
1.97

3.68

4.50

0.01
1.69

2.99

3.97

0.01
1.46

2.91

3.80

Degree of substitution

0.0:1
0.5:1
1.0:1
1.5:1
2.0:1
2.5:1
3.0:1
3.5:1

0.00
0.09
0.17
0.18
0.19
0.2
0.24
0.25

(A.D.) after dialysis

0.00
0.07
0.17
0.2
0.22
0.26
0.29
0.33

0.00
0.07

0.2

0.26

0.00
0.11

0.22

0.28

0.00
0.08

0.17

0.23

(B.D.) before dialysis.

lar ratios, the other factor began to become more effective.

The lower size of rice grains as compared with the other two
starch types will allow higher extents of phosphorylation as
a result of the higher granular surface area exposed to the reactant [21]. The lowest extents of phosphorylation recorded
in the case of potato starch may be due to two factors, the
comparatively large granular size and the higher original
content of phosphate in the native starting material which
might have lowered the amount of free hydroxyl groups
available to the reactant.
The data in Tab. 3 show also that the fraction of phosphate
bound to corn amylose was higher than that bound to corn
amylopectin at all employed molar ratios. This may be due to
the linear structure of amylose which allows more free hydroxyl groups to be exposed to the reactants than the
branched chains of amylopectin.
3.2 Influence of phosphorylation on the chemical
properties of different starches
3.2.1 Ash content

The determination of mineral matter may give some indication of the starch grade. Ashing at too high a temperature

may cause volatilization of some mineral constituents such

as sodium chloride. The temperature specified by the
A.O.A.C. is 525 C at which sodium chloride does not sublime.
The data in Tab. 4 show that the mineral content was increased with increasing DS in all kinds of starch. These results are in agreement with Perez [23] who mentioned that
phosphorus and ash contents were highly correlated (r =
0.98) due to the incorporation of phosphate groups into the
starch molecules during the esterification reaction.
From the same table it is clear that native corn and potato
starches had ash contents of 0.23% and 0.37 in agreement
with Mitchell [24] and Mariam and Schmidt [25] and Soni et
al. [26].
3.2.2 Starch pH

The pH of starch was measured as it affects the physical

properties of pastes, and most unmodified starches are adjusted to a pH level of about 5.0 during the final stages of
processing [13]. It was found that the pH levels of phosphorylated starch pastes ranged between 6.55 and 6.75, irrespective of the starch type (data not shown). The closeness
among the pH values of the different prepared phosphorylat-

Tab. 4. Ash content of unmodified and phosphorylated starches, calculated as % of dry matter.
Molar ratio

Corn starch

Rice starch

Potato starch

Corn amylose

Corn amylopectin

0.0:1

0.23

0.32

0.37

0.07

0.08

0.5:1

1.32

1.26

1.23

1.48

1.29

1.0:1

1.69

1.50

1.5:1

2.07

2.55

2.34

2.0:1

2.68

2.89

2.5:1

3.13

3.56

3.32

3.0:1

3.90

4.17

3.5:1

4.44

5.01

98

Starch/Strke 52 (2000) Nr. 4, S. 95100

Tab. 5. Acidity of unmodified and phosphorylated starches (milliequivalent acid/g starch).

Molar ratio

Corn starch

Rice starch

Potato starch

Corn amylose

Corn amylopectin

0.0:1
0.5:1
1.0:1
1.5:1
2.0:1
2.5:1
3.0:1
3.5:1

0.02
0.21
0.43
0.45
0.46
0.51
0.60
0.74

0.00
0.20
0.31
0.46
0.54
0.75
0.81
0.94

0.01
0.15

0.45

0.63

0.00
0.11

0.22

0.28

0.00
0.08

0.17

0.23

ed starches may be due to the buffering action of the monoand disodium hydrogen orthophosphates used in the preparation of the phosphorylated polysaccharides.
The mono- and disodium hydrogen orthophosphates
added to the reaction medium at a ratio to maintain the pH at
6 (for all the molar ratios) during the reaction course seem to
maintain their buffering influence on the product pH, keeping it very close to the original pH value of 6. In addition the
conditions used in the reaction will allow producing modified starches having a pH close to the starting one, irrespective of the used molar ratio of the reagent.
3.2.3 Starch acidity

The acidity of starch is chiefly related to the amount of

amylophosphoric acid but may be due in part to the presence
of sulfur dioxide used as a preservative or to the presence of
propionic and other organic acids produced by the controlled
fermentation of carbohydrate during steeping, in the case of
low-grade starches [27]. Some modified starches and starch
derivatives are processed in the presence of acids or acidic
reagents which may affect the physical properties of the resultant starch pastes, so the acidity of native and phosphorylated starch pastes was estimated and the results are shown in
Tab. 5.
The acidity levels of native corn starch, rice starch, potato
starch, corn amylose and corn amylopectin were 0.02, 0.00,
0.01, 0.00 and 0.00 (as milliequivalents of acid per gram
sample), respectively. These different values may be due to
the different conditions used in the preparation of these polysaccharides. On the other hand, the results from the same
table show that the acidity of the phosphorylated polysaccharides increased gradually and in parallel with increasing
the DS, indicating that there was a linear relationship between DS and the amount of hydrolyzable phosphate groups
bound to starch.
The difference between the results of the constant pH
values of the phosphorylated starches and their variable
values of acidity is due to the following facts: in the first
case only the concentration of free hydrogen ions was
measured by means of a pH meter while in the latter case all
the acidic hydrogen was measured through the reaction with
the strong base NaOH. It is evident that the constant values
of the pH values in the first case are due to the buffering
capacity of the product, this factor does not affect the latter
values (acidity).

References
[1] J. Kerb (1919), cited in: Starch Production Technology. Ed. J. A.
Radley. Applied Science Publishers LTD., London 1976, p. 543.
[2] H. Pringsheim and K. Goldstein (1923): Production and
uses of starch phosphates, cited in: Starch Chemistry and
Starch/Strke 52 (2000) Nr. 4, S. 95100

Technology. Ed. R. L. Whistler, Vol. 11, Academic Press, New

York 1967, p. 352.
[3] H. Neukom (1958): Production and uses of starch phosphates,
cited in: Starch Chemistry and Technology. Ed. R. L. Whistler,
Vol. 11, Academic Press, New York 1967, p. 356.
[4] E. F. Paschall: Phosphorylation with Inorganic Phosphate Salts.
Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry. Academic Press Publishers,
New York 1964, pp. 214296.
[5] R. M. Hamilton and E. F. Paschall: Production and uses of starch
phosphates, in: Starch Chemistry and Technology. Ed. R. L.
Whistler, Vol. 11, Academic Press, New York 1967, pp. 354356.
[6] S. Lim and P. A. Seib: Preparation and pasting properties of wheat
and corn starch phosphates. Cereal. Chem. 70 (1993), 137144.
[7] T. Fortuna: Physico-chemical properties of monostarch hydrogenphosphates of various origin. Acta Alimentaria Polonica 15
(1989), 227233.
[8] R. Morton and S. Daniel: Starch Phosphate Monoesters, in: Starch
Chemistry and Technology. 2nd ed. Eds. R. L. Whistler, J. N. BeMiller and E. F. Paschall, Academic Press, Inc., New York 1984.
[9] T. Fortuna, K. Marusza, and P. Tomasik: Phosphorylated Starch of
High Degree of Substitution. Acta Aliment. Pol. 17 (1991),
291295.
[10] A. Waly, F. A. Abdel-Mohdy, A. Higazy, and A. Hebeish: Synthesis
and Properties of Starch Phosphate Monoesters. Starch/Strke 46
(1994), 5963.
[11] S. Lim, T. Kasemsuwan, and J. Jane: Characterization of Phosphorus in Starch by Phosphorus-31 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy. Cereal Chem. 71 (1994) 488493.
[12] S. Lim and P. A. Seib: Location of Phosphate Esters in Wheat
Starch Phosphate by 31P-NMR. Cereal. Chem. 70 (1993),
145152.
[13] A. C. Eliasson and M. Gudmundsson: Starch: Physicochemical
and Functional Aspects, in: Carbohydrates in Food. Ed. A. C.
Eliasson. Food Science and Technology (Marcel Dekker, Inc.),
New York 1996, pp. 431503.
[14] O. B. Wurzburg: Modified starches, in: Food Polysaccharides and
their Applications. Ed. A. M. Stephen. Food Science and Technology, New York 1995, pp. 8283.
[15] F. W. Comer and M. K. Fry: Purification, modification, and properties of air classified peastarch. Cereal Chem. 55 (1978), 818829.
[16] J. Murphy and J. H. Riley: A modified single solution method
for the determination of phosphate in natural waters. Anal. Chim.
Acta 27 (1962), 3136.
[17] A.O.A.C.: Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official Agriculture Chemists Published by the A.O.A.C., 14th ed.
Washington, DC 1985.
[18] R. J. Smith: Characterization and analysis of starches, in: Starch,
Chemistry and Technology, Vol. 11. Eds. R. J. Whistler and E. F.
Paschall. Academic Press, New York 1967, p. 580.
[19] M. Samec and F. Hoefft: in: Starch Production Technology. Ed.
J. A. Radle. Applied Science Publishers LTD., London 1976, p. 545.
[20] V. Singh and S. Z. Ali: Estimation of Phosphorus in Native and
Modified Starches. Improvement in the Molybdovanadophosphoric Acid Method. Starch/Strke 39 (1987), 277279.
[21] R. Lohmar, J. W. Sloan, and C. E. Rist: Production and Uses of
Starch Phosphates, in: Starch Chemistry and Technology. Ed. R. L.
Whistler, Vol. 11, Academic Press, New York 1967, p. 353.

99

[22] H. F. Zobel and A. M. Stephen: Starch: Structure, Analysis and

application, in: Food Polysaccharides and their Applications. Ed.
A. M. Stephen, Food science and technology, Marcel Dekker Inc.
New York 1995, p. 23.
[23] E. Perez, Y. A. Bahnassey, and W. M. Breene: Some chemical,
physical, and functional properties of native and modified starches of Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus cruentus.
Starch/Strke 45 (1993), 215220.
[24] G. A. Mitchell: Methods of Starch Analysis. Starch/Strke 42
(1990), 131134.
[25] T. G. Mariam and P. C. Schmidt: Isolation and Physicochemical
Properties of Enset Starch. Starch/Strke 48 (1996) 208214.
[26] L.-P. Soni, H. Sharma, H. C. Srivastava, and M. M. Gharia:
Physicochemical Properties of Canna Edulis Starch-Comparison
with Maize Starch. Starch/Strke 42 (1990), 460464.

100

[27] J. A. Radley: Chemical Analysis of Raw and Modified Starches,

in: Examination and analysis of starch and starch products. Applied Science Publishers LTD., London 1976, pp. 133165.
Address of authors: Dr. M. Z. Sitohy*, Dr. S. M. Labib, Dr. S. S. El-

Saadany and Mr. M. F. Ramadan, Biochemistry Dept., Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig Univ., Zagazig, Egypt.
* Corresponding author.

(Received: December 5, 1998).

(Revised manuscript received: March 29, 2000).

Starch/Strke 52 (2000) Nr. 4, S. 95100