Starch in the context of "Endosperm"

Photosynthesis (/ˌfoʊtəˈsɪnθəsɪs/ FOH-tə-SINTH-ə-sis) is a system of biological processes by which photopigment-bearing autotrophic organisms, such as most plants, algae and cyanobacteria, convert light energy — typically from sunlight — into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabolism. The term photosynthesis usually refers to oxygenic photosynthesis, a process that releases oxygen as a byproduct of water splitting. Photosynthetic organisms store the converted chemical energy within the bonds of intracellular organic compounds (complex compounds containing carbon), typically carbohydrates like sugars (mainly glucose, fructose and sucrose), starches, phytoglycogen and cellulose. When needing to use this stored energy, an organism's cells then metabolize the organic compounds through cellular respiration. Photosynthesis plays a critical role in producing and maintaining the oxygen content of the Earth's atmosphere, and it supplies most of the biological energy necessary for complex life on Earth.

Some organisms also perform anoxygenic photosynthesis, which does not produce oxygen. Some bacteria (e.g. purple bacteria) uses bacteriochlorophyll to split hydrogen sulfide as a reductant instead of water, releasing sulfur instead of oxygen, which was a dominant form of photosynthesis in the euxinic Canfield oceans during the Boring Billion. Archaea such as Halobacterium also perform a type of non-carbon-fixing anoxygenic photosynthesis, where the simpler photopigment retinal and its microbial rhodopsin derivatives are used to absorb green light and produce a proton (hydron) gradient across the cell membrane, and the subsequent ion movement powers transmembrane proton pumps to directly synthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the "energy currency" of cells. Such archaeal photosynthesis might have been the earliest form of photosynthesis that evolved on Earth, as far back as the Paleoarchean, preceding that of cyanobacteria (see Purple Earth hypothesis).

In cooking, a leavening agent (/ˈlɛvənɪŋ/) or raising agent, also called a leaven (/ˈlɛvən/) or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An alternative or supplement to leavening agents is mechanical action by which air is incorporated (i.e. kneading). Leavening agents can be biological or synthetic chemical compounds. The gas produced is often carbon dioxide, or occasionally hydrogen.

When a dough or batter is mixed, the starch in the flour and the water in the dough form a matrix (often supported further by proteins like gluten or polysaccharides, such as pentosans or xanthan gum). The starch then gelatinizes and sets, leaving gas bubbles that remain.

The dog (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated over 14,000 years ago, before the development of agriculture. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.

Dogs have been bred for desired behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They have the same number of bones (with the exception of the tail), powerful jaws that house around 42 teeth, and well-developed senses of smell, hearing, and sight. Compared to humans, dogs possess a superior sense of smell and hearing, but inferior visual acuity. Dogs perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, companionship, therapy, aiding disabled people, and assisting police and the military.

Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stems of vascular plants. Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which in some cases can store starch. In eudicotyledons, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocotyledons, it extends only into roots. The pith is encircled by a ring of xylem; the xylem, in turn, is encircled by a ring of phloem.

While new pith growth is usually white or pale in color, as the tissue ages it commonly darkens to a deeper brown color. In trees pith is generally present in young growth, but in the trunk and older branches the pith often gets replaced – in great part – by xylem. In some plants, the pith in the middle of the stem may dry out and disintegrate, resulting in a hollow stem. A few plants, such as walnuts, have distinctive chambered pith with numerous short cavities. The cells in the peripheral parts of the pith may, in some plants, develop to be different from cells in the rest of the pith. This layer of cells is then called the perimedullary region of the pithamus. An example of this can be observed in Hedera helix, a species of ivy.

Coated paper (also known as enamel paper, gloss paper, and thin paper) is paper that has been coated with a mixture of materials or a polymer to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness, or reduced ink absorbency. Various materials, including kaolinite, calcium carbonate, bentonite, and talc, can be used to coat paper for high-quality printing, such as that used in the packaging industry and in magazines.

The chalk or china clay is bound to the paper with synthetic viscosifiers, such as styrene-butadiene latexes and natural organic binders such as starch. The coating formulation may also contain chemical additives as dispersants, resins, or polyethylene to give water resistance and wet strength to the paper, or to protect against ultraviolet radiation.

Sake, saké (Japanese: 酒, Hepburn: sake; English: IPA: /ˈsɑːki, ˈsækeɪ/ SAH-kee, SAK-ay), or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name Japanese rice wine, sake, and indeed any East Asian rice wine (such as huangjiu and cheongju), is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars that ferment into alcohol, whereas in wine, alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes. This process is called Multiple Parallel Fermentation.

Although similar, the brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer, in which the conversion from starch to sugar and then from sugar to alcohol occurs in two distinct steps. Like other rice wines, these conversions occur simultaneously when brewing sake. The typical alcohol content also differs between sake, wine, and beer; while most beer contains 3–9% ABV and wine generally contains 9–16% ABV, undiluted sake contains 18–20% ABV (although this is typically lowered somewhat by diluting with water prior to bottling).

The blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, blood glucose level, or glycemia is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood. The body tightly regulates blood glucose levels as a part of metabolic homeostasis.

For a 70 kg (154 lb) human, approximately four grams of dissolved glucose (also called "blood glucose") is maintained in the blood plasma at all times. Glucose that is not circulating in the blood is stored in skeletal muscle and liver cells in the form of glycogen; in fasting individuals, blood glucose is maintained at a constant level by releasing just enough glucose from these glycogen stores in the liver and skeletal muscle in order to maintain homeostasis. Glucose can be transported from the intestines or liver to other tissues in the body via the bloodstream. Cellular glucose uptake is primarily regulated by insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. Once inside the cell, the glucose can now act as an energy source as it undergoes the process of glycolysis.

Polysaccharides (/ˌpɒliˈsækəraɪd/; from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús) 'many, much' and σάκχαρ (sákkhar) 'sugar') are "Compounds consisting of a large number of monosaccharides linked glycosidically". They are the most abundant carbohydrates in food. Their structures range from linear to highly branched polymers. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen, and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin. The term "glycan" is synonymous with polysaccharide, but often glycans are discussed in the context of glycoconjugates, i.e. hybrids of polysaccharides and proteins or lipids.

Polysaccharides are often heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. They may be amorphous (e.g. starch) or insoluble in water (e.g. cellulose).

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) or common buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat cultivation originated around the 6th millennium BC in the region of what is now Yunnan Province in southwestern China. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as Fagopyrum tataricum, a domesticated food plant raised in Asia.

Despite its name, buckwheat is not closely related to wheat, nor is it a cereal or a member of the grass family. It is related to sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb. Buckwheat is considered a pseudocereal because the high starch content of the seeds enables buckwheat to be cooked and consumed like a cereal.

A carbohydrate (/ˌkɑːrboʊˈhaɪdreɪt/) is a sugar (saccharide) or a sugar derivative. For the simplest carbohydrates, the carbon-to-hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 1:2:1, i.e. they are often represented by the empirical formula C(H₂O)_n. Together with amino acids, fats, and nucleic acids, the carbohydrates are one of the major families of biomolecules.

Carbohydrates perform numerous roles in living organisms. Polysaccharides serve as an energy store (e.g., starch and glycogen) and as structural components (e.g., cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods and fungi). The 5-carbon monosaccharide ribose is an important component of coenzymes (e.g., ATP, FAD and NAD) and the backbone of the genetic molecule known as RNA. The related deoxyribose is a component of DNA. Saccharides and their derivatives play key roles in the immune system, fertilization, preventing pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.