Difference Between Amylose and Amylopectin

The Amylose and the Amylopectin are both components of starch.  The Amylose is a polysaccharide that is made up of D-glucose units and composes around 20 to 30 percent of the total structure of starch.  The Amylopectin composes the remaining percentage and is also a polysaccharide.  One major difference between the two is that the amylose components are insoluble in water while those of the amylopectin are.  This means that the amylose content is not able to dissolve easily in water unlike its counterpart, which makes it harder to be absorbed by the body and the internal systems.  When it comes to their structure and linkages, the amylose is not connected by any branching and only has these Alpha 1 and 4 bonds.  Amylopectin, on the other hand, is connected by branching and also uses the same Alpha 1 and 4 bonds.

The linking of the Amylose is often taken in three forms.  For one thing, it can appear in this disordered amorphous conformation, or it can be in two very distinct helical forms.  The component also has this linear structure that offers a rotation around the phi and psi angles, which will bind the glucose ring on one part of the structure.  The Amylopectin, meanwhile, has this non-random branching that is determined by enzymes with around 30 glucose residues.  The starch component of the Amylopectin also has more so-called �outer� un-branched chains that are called the A-Chains while the inner chains are referred to as the B-Chains.

The function of the amylose is to provide energy for plants.  This is because they are easy digested compared to amolypectin.  Consequently, because of its linear structure and composition, it takes up less space when compared to the amolypectin component.  In the creation of food products, it is used more often as an emulsion stabilizer and as a way to thicken agents in industrial and food-based industries.  However, if you want to remove the presence of too much water on food, the amolypectin works better as it gets to absorb water better.  In this setting, you can often see its effect when the sauce or liquid food substance is cooked and cools down.  Often, if amylose is used, you can see the water separate itself from the solid food products.

If you are using the starch components for experimentation and testing, the amylose works in fitting inside the helical structures’ iodine that will absorb certain wavelengths of light.  This makes the component to act as a marker.  Amylopectin, on the other hand, is less used in the laboratory setting because of its easy breakdown into smaller components.

Summary
1. Amylose is an un-branched structural component of starch while amylopectin is a branched component.
2. Amylose is more used in cooking because of its easy separation from water while amylopectin tends to absorb water more.
3. Amylose is an insoluble component of starch while amylopectin is the soluble component.
4. Amylose is a great storage system for energy while amylopectin only stores a small amount of energy.