A Method for Determining Starch Concentration Using a Portable Blood Glucose Monitor

Abstract

The carbohydrate reserves in plant tissue have been correlated with all phases of plant growth and development. Consequently, several methods have been developed to quantify those reserves. The methods for starch determination are either direct (iodine staining) or indirect (the conversion of starch to sugars by chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis). Chemical methods involve hydrolysis of subunit bonds with either a strong acid or base, and enzymatic methods use catalytic proteins specifically to cleave the subunit bonds.