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Testing Foods For Starch: © British Nutrition Foundation 2004 (Energy and Nutrients 1995)

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69 views2 pages

Testing Foods For Starch: © British Nutrition Foundation 2004 (Energy and Nutrients 1995)

thus

Uploaded by

lklkelwl
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Testing Foods for Starch

Introduction
This is a simple test which shows whether food contains starch. When iodine solution is
mixed with starch it turns from brown to dark blue. As this happens with very small amounts
of starch, iodine test is a sensitive one. Starch forms as grains inside the living cells of plants.
Iodine solution penetrates into the starch most easily when the cell walls have been
destroyed and it reacts most readily when the starch grains are swollen. Both these things
happen when plant foods are cooked.

You will need

Equipment
Test tubes
Test tube rack
Glass rod
Spatula
Mechanical grinder or pestle
and mortar
Dropping pipette
White tile
Eye protection

Materials
Food samples, fresh and cooked
Iodine in potassium iodine
solution
Distilled water

Safety

© British Nutrition Foundation 2004 (Energy and Nutrients 1995)


Method

1. If the food to be tested is liquid, go to 2. If the food to be


tested is solid, make an extract. Grind crush or chop a
small amount and put into a test tube to a depth of about
2cm. Add a similar amount of distilled water and stir with
a glass rod. Allow to stand for a few minutes.

2. Draw up some of the clear liquid into a pipette and then


either transfer it into another test tube or put drops onto
a white tile.

3. Add on drop of (brown) iodine solution on the tile and


look for a colour change. A blue-black colour indicates
the presence of starch.

Extension Work

It is possible to see where exactly in a plant the starch is situated. For example, a seed, which
has been thoroughly soaked to make it soft, can be cut into a very thin slice and treated with
iodine solution.
Examination with powerful lens or low-power microscope will reveal the position of starch,
coloured dark blue by iodine.
More information can be obtained by adding Schultze solution instead of iodine.

Seen under the microscope after adding Schultze’s solution.

Thin cell walls (made of cellulose) appear – violet


Thick (wood) cells – yellow
Protein – brown
Starch – blue

© British Nutrition Foundation 2004 (Energy and Nutrients 1995)

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