POLARIMETRIC DETERMINATION OF STARCH IN CEREAL PRODUCTS: I. RAPID DETERMINATION OF STARCH IN CRUDE GLUTEN

Abstract

Neither the original Mannich–Lenz procedure nor its recently proposed revisions proved suitable for the polarimetric determination of starch in gluten. The principal defect lay in the means of removing or correcting for proteins dissolved along with the starch and there also was a need for improvements in technique of starch dispersion.In the present method, the starch of the gluten sample is dispersed by 15 min. boiling in a calcium chloride solution having a specific gravity of 1.30 and a pH of approximately 2.5. Frothing is controlled by the addition of one or two drops of n-octyl alcohol, constant volume being maintained during boiling by the addition of water. The proteins dissolved by this treatment are precipitated with 20% stannic chloride prior to filtration and polarization. This rapid procedure underestimates the starch content but the application of a factor to correct for the constant ratio of underestimation allows the real starch content to be determined with an accuracy of ±0.5%.