Starch from Biomass – Sources, Extraction, and Application

Over the last 20 years, polysaccharides from biomass and plants have been the subject of diverse studies and increasing interest, focusing mainly on their physicochemical properties, chemical modifications, and their applications. Starch is an abundant, natural, renewable, and biodegradable polysaccharide produced by plants as a source of energy. Starch remains one of the most gigantic renewable resources in biopolymers as well as a major element of the human diet providing around 50% of daily energy consumption. The latter can be found in the form of multiple structural types derived from different botanical sources. The presented review summarized past and recent reports on starch from conventional and novel plant sources, isolation, and extraction methods, in addition to the characterization of structural features such as physicochemical and other functional properties. Attention was also paid to the derivatives based on this polysaccharide and to the application possibilities of the latter for food and nonfood applications, including the production of composite materials and other biomaterials. This work may be of interest to starch scientists and manufacturers to have a more global overview of the most important source of starch, the conventional and nonconventional methodologies for its extraction, and finally to exploit its unique functional properties and increase the utilization of its native and modified form as a sustainable material in various industries.