The common industrial starches are typically derived from cereals (corn, wheat, rice, sorghum), tubers (potato, sweet potato), roots (cassava), and legumes (mung bean, green pea). Sago (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) starch is perhaps the only example of commercial starch derived from another source, the stem of palm (sago palm). Sago palm has the ability to thrive in the harsh swampy peat environment of certain areas. It is estimated that there are about 2 million ha of natural sago palm forests and about 0.14 million ha of planted sago palm at present, out of a total swamp area of about 20 million ha in Asia and the Pacific Region, most of which are under-or nonutilized. Growing in a suitable environment with organized farming practices, sago palm could have a yield potential of up to 25 tons of starch per hectare per year. Sago starch yield per unit area could be about 3 to 4 times higher than that of rice, corn, or wheat, and about 17 times higher than that of cassava. Compared to the common industrial starches, however, sago starch has been somewhat neglected and relatively less attention has been devoted to the sago palm and its starch. Nevertheless, a number of studies have been published covering various aspects of sago starch such as molecular structure, physicochemical and functional properties, chemical/physical modifications, and quality issues. This article is intended to piece together the accumulated knowledge and highlight some pertinent information related to sago palm and sago starch studies.

No abstract

Doughs containing mixtures of sago and wheat flours of differing protein content at different levels of sago substitution (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50%) were prepared as follows: sago + high protein wheat (HPW) flour, sago + medium protein wheat (MPW) flour and sago + low − protein wheat (LPW) flour. The viscoelasticity of doughs from control sago and wheat flours and sago/wheat flour mixtures was determined using a Braberder farinograph. It was found that arrival time increased with increasing protein content in the mixture. Peak time for control wheat flours and sago/wheat flour mixtures increased with increasing protein content. Dough stability, 20 min drop and water absorption were found to decrease as the sago proportion in the mixture decreased. The 50% sago/LPW mixture was unable to form a dough. Breakdown times for control HPW flour and HPW flour mixtures were the highest, followed by MPW flour and then LPW flour. However, breakdown time for control MPW flour was higher than that for HPW flour mixtures. The same trend was observed at all ratios of mixture over the whole experiment.

This study describes the effect of predrying sago starch, a tropical starch, on the resultant mechanical properties of starch/poly(-caprolactone) composite materials. Sago starch was dried to less than a 1% moisture level in a vacuum oven and dispersed into a polycaprolactone matrix with an internal mixer at 90°C. The mechanical properties of the composite were studied according to methods of the Association for Standards, Testing, and Measurement, whereas the morphology was monitored with scanning electron microscopy. The properties were compared with a composite obtained with native starch containing 12% moisture. The results indicated that predrying the starch led to a lower property drop rate in the composite as the starch content increased. The elastic modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break were higher than those obtained when starch was used without predrying. The morphology observed during scanning electron microscopy studies was used to explain the observed trends in the mechanical properties. In this way, a relatively simple and cost-effective method was devised to increase the starch loading in the polycaprolactone matrix to obtain properties within the useful range of mechanical properties.

No abstract