Unit 16 Sugar and Starches
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UNIT 16 SUGAR AND STARCHES. Structure 16.1 Introduction Objectives 16.2 Sugar 16.2.1 Sugarcane / 16.3 Starches 16.3.1 Potato 16.3.2 Cnssavn 16.4 Surnmcary 16.5 Tenninal Questions 16.6 Answers lGYl INTRODUCTION Sugar and starches, the two common forms of carbohydrates, constitute a group of organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen generally, in the ratios of 121. The conlparatively high percentage of oxygen makes carbohydrates a less efficient source of energy than fats and oils. They may be roughly divided into monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Monosaccliarides are the least complex of the carbohydrates having a general formula C,H2,0n They cannot be hydrolysed further into simple carbohydrates and are the building blocks of the more complex oligo- and polysaccharides. Of all plant monosaccharides, glucose and liuctose are the most common. Oligosaccharides are comp sed of two or more molecules of monosaccharides joined together by glycoside linkages and tiley yield simple sugars on hydrolysis. Sucrose (the conde~lsationproduct of a fructose and glucose unit) and maltose or malt sugar (the condensation product of two glucose molecules) are two common examples of disaccharides. Polysnccharides are complex molecules of high molecular weight composed of a large number of repenting monosaccharide units held together by glucoside linkages. They have lost all their sugar properties. Their general formula is (CnHzn.20n.l),. They can be broken down into their constituent sugars by hydl.olysis. Starch and cellulose are the two most abundant polysnccharides in plants. The carbohydrates are reserve food supply of not only plants but animals too. They are the most valuable products of the plant world and constitute a necessary food component for man. Carbohydrates make up the bulk of the dry weight of plants. Although they are of many kinds, various sugars, starches and cellulose predominate. The sugars are water soluble but starches and cellulose are insoluble in water. Cellulose cannot be digested by man but can be decomposed by microorganisms. The common sugar and starch yielding crops are listed in the following table (1 6.1). Table 16.1: Sugar and Starch Crops. Common name Scientific name Family Plants yielding sugnr Sugnrcane Saccharun~oflcinarrtrn Poaceac Sugarbeet Beta vulgaris Chenopodiaceae Barley Hor-deum vulgare Poaceae Sweet sorghum, Sorgo Sorghum bicolor Poaceac Wild date palm Phoenir sylvestris Arecaceae Toddy palm, Sago palm Coryoru urens Arecacene Coconut pulm Cocos nuclfera Arecnceae Plan& yielding starch Potato Solanurn ruberosum Solanaceae Cassava Manihor esculenro Euphorbiaceac aQueensland arrowroot Canna edulis Cannacene Tam Colocasia esculet~ta Arilceae Giant tam Alocasla macrorrl~iza Araceae Contd. .. Economic Botany East Indian arrowroot Curcurna anguslifolia Zingiberaceae Greater Asiatic Yam Dioscorea aldla Dioscoreaceae White Guinea Yam D. rotundafa Dioscoreaceae Yellow Guinea Yam D,cayenensis Dioscoreaceae Air potato D. bulbifera Dioscoreaceae Cush-cusli, Yampee D. rrifda Dioscoreaceae Sago palm Caryola urens Arecaceae Sago palm, Queen sago Cycas circinalis Cycadacene Japanese sago palm C. revolufa Cycadaceae Maize &a mays Poaceae Wheat Triricum species Poaceae Rice Oryza sativa Poaceae Objectives After reading this unit, you should be able to: explain the process of formation of sugars, and their functions in plants; prepare a list of the main sugar-ydding plants of the world: describe the meihods of cultivation of sugarcane; e describe the morphological nature of the plant parts yielding sugar; explain the method of extraction of sugw and discuss its uses; e explain the forrnatioll of by-products generated during sugar production and discuss their uses; summarise methods of improvement of sugar crop; Q explain the formation and storage of starch; r e identify main plant sources of starch; I e identify various types of starch grains; i 0 describe the morphological nature of the plants, and their parts that yield starch; , I describe the methods of cultivation of potato and cassava; and relate the importance and uses of starch to humans. SUGAR The name 'sugar' comes from the Sanskrit word "sarkara" meaning gravel and refers to the i crude sugar. The human tongue knows only four basic tastes - sweet, sour, salt and bitter. , Our "sweet tooth" has therefore always played a major part in making food attractive, so ' the sugar bearing plants are of great interest to us. It would be difficult to imagine our lives without sugars both as a source of energy and as a sweetening agent. Honey was the first sweetening material of our ancestors and, in order to have a steady supply at hand, man domesticated the bee and thus began apiculture. Sugar was a rare commodity in Europe until the Middle Ages and was used only by the artistocratic society. However, by the end of the fifteenth century, sugar had replaced honey as sweetener and became a cheap and I common food for all people in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I i All green plants are capable of synthesising sugars through their photosynthetic activity and i it commonly occurs in small amounts in many plant species (see Fig. 16.1). Mostly the sugar produced is so scanty that little is accuniulated while most of it is used during metabolism of the plant. The sugarcane plant is amongst the most efficient convertors of solar energy, j carbon dioxide and water into energy giving food. Besides sugarcane, sugars are stored in , large quantities in sugarbeet, carrots - roots; maize, sorghum and sugar maple - stems; number of palms - chiefly in their inflorescences; onion - bulb, and in many fruits. Sugar is not only an essential food but is also an important preservative for several food products. The world's major supply of sugar at present comes from the culms of sugarcane (Saccharurn oflcinarum) and smaller propdrtion from roots of sugarbeet (Beta bl vulgaris). The former is essentially a tropical plant while the latter is confined to subtropical and temperate climatic conditions. Sugarbeet has proved successful in Europe and forms the main source of sugar. It is second to sugarcane as the major source of the , world's sugar supply. A small proportion is obtained from sugar maple (Acer I saccharurn); sugar palm (Arenga pinnufa); palmyra palm (Borassusflabell~er);toddy , F palm (Caryofaurens); coconut palm (Cocos nucifem); wild date palm (Phoenix Sugar nnd Starches ,s>lvestris) and Sorglz~inlvulgc:re var, saccharaturn. Sugarcane, an important source of sugar in tropics, is discussed in this unit. Fig. 16.1 : Common sugnr und starch crops. a) Sugnrcnne, b) Sugar maple, c) Wild date palm, d) Sugnr palm, e) Sugnrbeet, f) Sngo pnlm. 16.2.1 SUGARCANE Botanical name: Saccharurrz officinarrtnt Family: Poaceae Vernacular name: Gannn n = 6,8,10 Sugarcane, the primary source of sugar, is tropical by origin and is cultivated in all the warm countries. India, Cuba, Pakistan and Brazil are the major producers of sugar. There are significant productions also in the southern USA, the West Indies, several central and south American countries, Mexico, Egypt, Java, China, Taiwan, Philippines, South Africa and Australia. Cuba, also known as the 'world's sugar bowl', is the largest producer of sugarcane. Sugarcane is believed to have originated in the South Pacific, probably New Guinea and it spread throughout most of the southeast Asia. In Jndia sugarcane is known to have been cultivated since prehistoric times and became an important crop by the end of the fourth century B.C. During the invasion of India (327 B.C.) Alexander's army found the local people obtaining "honey" from a grass-like substance without the aid of bees. These grasses were in fact the plants yieldin& - ugary juice and they have been identified as belonging to genus Sacchonrm. The method of growing cane and making sugar then diffused towards East to Indo-China and West to Arabian countries and Europe. Sugarcane was being cultivated in China before the first century B.C. It reached Persia (now Iran) in the beginning of 6"'century A.D. Columbus is credited with having introduced it into the New World from the Canary Islands. By the 17' century this plant was well distributed in the whole world. In India sugarcane occupies about 2% million hectares of cultivated land, and is cultivated practically in every state, with Uttar Pradesh well in the lead, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, Orissa, Gujarat and Rajasthan. This crop requires fertile soil, long growing period, plenty of water thrqughout the year, rainfall atleast 200-225 cm and between temperature range of 16- 50°C and average temperature of 26°C. It requires a short, dry season during later stages when sugar is being stored in the Stem. Origin Cultivated sugarcane has two geographic centres of origin: 1) South Pacific islands particularly New Guinea, where there is maximum diversity of the genus Saccharunr. Most botanists are of the opinion that cultivated sugarcane origrnakd in this region and spread eastwards and finally became established as an important ctop in several countries of South East Asia. 2) The second centre is Northern India. The tall luge barrelled tropical species S,oflcinarum originated from S. robustum in New Guinea. As it migrated outwards it became modified to the new natural habitat with species of related Erianthus maximus or Sclerosrachyafusca. The north Indian sugarcales. siriense (Chinese or Japanese cane) and S. barberi (Indian canes) are believed to have originated in North India by natural hybridization between migrating form of S. oJicinarum the S. ,sponraneum (wild cane). The last two species also occur in the wild state (also see Fig. 16.2). 1 80 - chxomosomc rohustunt - ---- Fig. 16.2 : Map slrowlng evolutlonnry geography of sugarcane. Systematics of Saccharurn I Five species of Saccharum, namely S. oflcinarum, S. barberi, S. sinense, S. spontaneum ; and S. robusturn, have been recognised. These are indigenous to lhe old world and are ; polyploid or aneuploid.