Starch vs. Cellulose

By Jaxson

Main Difference

The main difference between Starch and Cellulose is that the Starch is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds and Cellulose is a chemical compound

  • Starch

    Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as energy storage. It is the most common carbohydrate in human diets and is contained in large amounts in staple foods like potatoes, wheat, maize (corn), rice, and cassava.

    Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. It consists of two types of molecules: the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin. Depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin by weight. Glycogen, the glucose store of animals, is a more highly branched version of amylopectin.

    In industry, starch is converted into sugars, for example by malting, and fermented to produce ethanol in the manufacture of beer, whisky and biofuel. It is processed to produce many of the sugars used in processed foods. Mixing most starches in warm water produces a paste, such as wheatpaste, which can be used as a thickening, stiffening or gluing agent. The biggest industrial non-food use of starch is as an adhesive in the papermaking process. Starch can be applied to parts of some garments before ironing, to stiffen them.

  • Cellulose

    Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fiber is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%.Cellulose is mainly used to produce paperboard and paper. Smaller quantities are converted into a wide variety of derivative products such as cellophane and rayon. Conversion of cellulose from energy crops into biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol is under development as a renewable fuel source. Cellulose for industrial use is mainly obtained from wood pulp and cotton.Some animals, particularly ruminants and termites, can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms that live in their guts, such as Trichonympha. In human nutrition, cellulose is a non-digestible constituent of insoluble dietary fiber, acting as a hydrophilic bulking agent for feces and potentially aiding in defecation.

Wikipedia
  • Starch (noun)

    A widely diffused vegetable substance found especially in seeds, bulbs, and tubers, and extracted (as from potatoes, corn, rice, etc.) as a white, glistening, granular or powdery substance, without taste or smell, and giving a very peculiar creaking sound when rubbed between the fingers. It is used as a food, in the production of commercial grape sugar, for stiffening linen in laundries, in making paste, etc.

  • Starch (noun)

    Carbohydrates, as with grain and potato based foods.

  • Starch (noun)

    A stiff, formal manner; formality.

  • Starch (noun)

    Any of various starch-like substances used as a laundry stiffener

  • Starch (verb)

    To apply or treat with laundry starch, to create a hard, smooth surface.

    “She starched her blouses.”

  • Starch (adjective)

    Stiff; precise; rigid.

  • Cellulose (noun)

    A complex carbohydrate that forms the main constituent of the cell wall in most plants and is important in the manufacture of numerous products, such as paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and explosives.

  • Cellulose (noun)

    A polysaccharide containing many glucose units in parallel chains.

  • Cellulose (adjective)

    Consisting of, or containing, cells.

Wiktionary
  • Starch (noun)

    an odourless, tasteless white substance occurring widely in plant tissue and obtained chiefly from cereals and potatoes. It is a polysaccharide which functions as a carbohydrate store and is an important constituent of the human diet.

  • Starch (noun)

    food containing starch

    “they eat far too much starch”

  • Starch (noun)

    powder or spray made from starch and used before ironing to stiffen fabric or clothing

    “crisp linen, stiff with starch”

  • Starch (noun)

    stiffness of manner or character

    “the starch in her voice”

  • Starch (verb)

    stiffen (fabric or clothing) with starch

    “starch your collar to keep it straight and stiff”

  • Starch (verb)

    (of a boxer) defeat (an opponent) by a knockout

    “Ray Domenge starched Jeff Geddami in the first”

Oxford Dictionary

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