Dextrins

intermediate products of the enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharides, formed by the action of enzymes of the amylase and phosphorylase types. Dextrins are amorphous substances with more or less marked reducing properties, and they form colloidal solutions. They are characterized by considerable variations in molecular weight and degree of branching of the polysaccharide chain. In the initial stages of hydrolysis, amylodextrins are formed, which give a blue color with iodine, followed by erythrodextrins (reddish brown color with iodine) and maltodextrins, which give no color with iodine. Subsequent breakdown of dextrins gives disaccharides, mainly maltoses, and then monosaccharides. The partial breakdown of starch with the formation of dextrins can also occur on rapid heating (so-called dextrinization of starch, making it soluble in water).