Abstract 2290 Optimization of a colorimetric assay of amylase activity

Starch is one of the most widely used natural products, with a wide variety of industrial and manufacturing uses as a food additive, adhesive, textile finishing agent, and more. To the plant, it is the primary form of energy storage. During the day, starch is synthesized in chloroplasts and then broken down during the night to generate usable sugar in the form of maltose. Among the enzymes that catalyze this degradation are β-amylases, which cleave two glucose units from the non-reducing end of a polyglucan chain, forming β-maltose.