Evaluation of variations in amylose¯iodine absorbance spectra

Evaluation of the variations in spectra of the amylose¯iodine complex of starches and amyloses from various botanical sources provide a useful aid for identification and characterization of these substances. Variations in absorptivity, wavelengths of maximum absorbance, and the slopes of the absorbance peaks provide characteristic data for starches as a result of variations in amylose molecular weight. This data can be used to provide a convenient and relatively rapid means for detecting major differences, as between starches from normal and high amylose maizes, or between raw and modified starches and to evaluate effect of processing conditions.