Physicochemical and Binder Properties of Starch Obtained from Cyperus Esculentus

Physicochemical and Binder Properties of Starch Obtained from Cyperus esculentus

Rahul V. Manek,[pic 1] Philip F. Builders, William M. Kolling, Martins Emeje, and Olobayo O. Kunle

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Abstract

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INTRODUCTION

Starch, a polysaccharide composed exclusively of d-glucose, is one of the most abundant organic compounds found on earth. Starch can be isolated from leaves, stems, tubers, seeds, and roots of higher plants where it serves as an energy reserve. Chemically, starch is a carbohydrate polymer consisting of anhydroglucose units linked by α-d-(1, 4) glucosidic bonds. It consists of two inherently incompatible molecules: amylose (15–30%), a linear polymer, and amylopectin (85–70%), a branched chain polymer. Starch is used in a variety of industries including food, textiles, cosmetics, plastics, adhesives, paper, and pharmaceuticals. Starch is widely used by the food industry, especially as a thickening agent in processed foods (1). Starch has also gained attention as a biodegradable plastic for the production of disposable items (2). Reports on the use of starch for personal care and cosmetic purposes date back to the seventeenth century (3). In the pharmaceutical industry, starch is employed as a binder, diluent, and disintegrant. Freshly prepared starch paste at a concentration of 5–20% is routinely used during tablet manufacture (4). At 5–15% concentration, starch finds its applicability as a disintegrant in a number of tablet formulations (5). Novel applications of starch have been explored in the area of nasal (6), periodontal (7), and film-based (8) drug delivery systems. However, such diversified applicability demands the modification of the currently available starches or exploitation of novel sources. Although other industries are continuously involved with the discovery of novel starches with special characteristics, reports of similar work by pharmaceutical scientists are rather sporadic (9–13). Studies designed specifically at understanding the properties of starch from a formulation standpoint may provide us with alternatives to currently available excipients.