Detection of Amylose and Amylopectin from Different Yam (D. Opposita Thunb.) Cultivars by Capillary Electrophoresis

Abstract

The amylose and amylopectin of starch separated from four different D. opposita Thunb. were investigated by capillary electrophoresis. Nowadays, much research was focused on the utilization of plant starch as an industrial raw material which can effectively reduce the dependence on non-renewable resource. Then, the content of amylose in the starch will largely influence the availability of starches. Most detect methods were not suitable for this detection because of the high molecular mass of starch. This paper described the application of capillary electrophoresis to separate the amylose and amylopectin in four different D. opposita Thunb. and made a differentiation between them based on the well-known affinity of these compounds to iodine. The paper also improved the method of detecting yam starch because the method applying in other starches might appear somewhat different.