Studies on some properties of starch isolated from Sonneratia species

Sonneratia is one of the important mangrove genus, having edible properties. The three species of Sonneratia, i.e. S. alba, S. apetala and S. caseolaris grows along the coast of Maharashtra. The fruits of these species are starchy and edible. Therefore, the starch from these fruits was isolated and properties of the starch were studied. The starch -iodine-potassium iodide test is negative, i.e. instead of blue colour with iodine-potassium-iodide the fruit starch showed reddish colour. Granule size of isolated fruit starch is variable depending on species. The gelatinization temperature range was slightly varied than other starch sources. X-ray diffraction analysis showed some resemblance between standard and plant starch samples.