CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 CARBOHYDRATE
Carbohydrate is defined as a poly hydroaldehydes or poly hydroxy ketones or substances that field this on hydrolysis. They are called carbohydrate (hydrate carbon) because they contain hydrogen and oxygen in the same proportion as in water. Carbohydrates have a general formular (CH2O) n. where n, shows that it is a giant compound.
In terms of chemical properties it also contain nitrogen or sulphur in addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrates are classified based on sugar molecules it contains and this classification is based into four groups. Monosacharide, which hydrolyzed into simple sugar molecules, Disaccharide which is formed by joining together of two molecules of sugar by glycosidic bonds. Oligosaccarides, which and hydrolysis yield 2 to 6 molecules of monosaccharides; polysaccharides are very long chain or polymers of monosaccharides.
Polysaccharides are starch, cellulose and glycogen, the most digestible polysaccharide. In plant, starch is polymer of glucose.
1.2 NATURE OF LAUNDRY STARCH
Laundry starch is a white crystalline substance that is used for stiffening of fabric before ironing. Starch is a heterogeneous material composes of the glucose polymers, amylose and amylopectin. Amylose, which accounted for about 80% of the starch of a plant cell is a linear polymer of glucose molecule connected by a glycosidic bonds between C-1 glucose molecule and C-4 of second glucose. Amylopectin is a highly branched amylose in which the braches are attached to C-6 hydroxyl group by α (1-6) glycosidic bonds (caret and Denniston 1982), also stated that the main chain consists of α (1-4) glycosidic bonds. Each branch consists of 20-25 glucose units.
There are many sources of starchy food used in different parts of the world. They are maize starch, rice starch, wheat starch, potato starch, and cassava starch etc.