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Starch is an abundant plant polysaccharide that occurs naturally and the main source of carbohydrate and fuel in the human diet. Several biochemical and physicochemical studies have been performed to understand the molecular structure of starch of which microscopy, spectroscopy, and thermal analysis are the most popular. The ultrastructure and birefringence of starch granules have been observed using optical microscopy and polarization microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) have been used for spatially resolved micro to nanostructures as well as surface topography and crystallinity in the starch granules. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been utilized to elucidate the chemical composition and the changes that occur in its chemical compositions on various modifications. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has also been used to study the thermal characteristics of starch. This review deals with starch characterization using optical microscopy including polarization microscopy, SEM, XRD, FTIR, and DSC to understand the structural and functional characteristics of starch subjected to different processing conditions.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of soil mainly exhibit toxic characteristics that posses hazard to whole mankind. These toxic pollutants includes several group of compound viz., polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides, herbicides and organic fuels, especially gasoline and diesel. They can also be complex mixture of organic chemicals, heavy metals and microbes from septic systems, animal wastes and other sources of organic inputs. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology which can be used for remediation of soil from organic pollutants. In this chapter an attempt has been made to discuss about the sources of organic pollutants, factors that influenced the uptake of organic pollutants by plants, the different mechanism responsible for organic pollutants, phytoremediation of organic pollutants and their advantages and limitation.

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