Plant biopolymer science: food and non-food
applications

Understand plant biopolymers - particularly polysaccharides - and what they have to offer in food applications

Plant biopolymers, and particularly polysaccharides such as starch and pectin, are an important component of many foods. Understanding the biology, chemistry and physics of these materials can help in the formulation of new variants with improved properties and better suitability for purpose. This book is a collection of papers from the International Workshop on Plant Biopolymer Science held in June 2001. The papers span a wide range of topics, which will be of interest to scientific, technical and industrial personnel who need to keep abreast of technical developments in this field and who have an interest in exploiting the commercial opportunities the materials offer.

The papers are grouped by the following themes:

• Biosynthesis (4 papers) - covering cellulose biosynthesis, soybean proteins, and wheat glutenin subunits
• Biopolymer design (6 papers) - covering the formulation of materials from biopolymers and use of plant enzymes
• Biopolymer assemblies (4 papers) - looking at the behaviour and properties of specific assemblies, such as the development of colloidal carriers for controlled release applications
• Interfaces, interphases (5 papers) - looking at the behaviour of polymers at liquid-liquid and gas-liquid interfaces
• Multiphasic systems (13 papers) - looking at emulsions, gels, foams and films, and their industrial significance and uses

Hardback book - 304 pages