A comparative study of the degradation of different starches using thermal analysis

Four starches obtained from different sources were treated to thermal analysis and their mechanisms of degradation were deciphered using a rising temperature method of evaluation. A comparison of the solid state reactivity between the four starches was made, using a method known as the alpha(s)-alpha(r) method. By this method, it was possible to differentiate between four starches of completely different plant origin. Potato starch and rice starch were found to have the highest reactivity.