Key to identification of starch grains used as foods
The description of starch grains is important in different areas, such as bromatological, taxonomic, or archaeobotanic analyzes, among others. Although there are data on the microscopic description of starches used as foods, this work has proposed the development of a key to identify the starch grains in 13 raw materials obtained in specialized stores, markets and fairs to facilitate its identification. For optical microscopy, the material was deposited on a slide, being sealed with a coverslip in 50% glycerin. The samples were also mounted on double-sided tape and colloidal graphite on aluminum stubs and analyzed in scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Therefore, an unpublished starch identification key is proposed, together with the update of important data for its morphological description.