Question

The food is stored in plants in the form of
a. Starch
b. Maltose
c. Inulin
d. Lactose

Answer 1

Hint: The food stored in a cell should be such that it remains osmotically inactive and doesn't evacuate into the surrounding tissue on its own.

Complete answer:
Starch is the main form of storage of glucose in plants.
The process of making food by plants with the help of carbon dioxide, water, and chlorophyll is called photosynthesis. The food prepared by leaves of plants is a form of glucose only which is sugar. But this glucose is stored in the form of starch. It is stored in different parts of plants like leaves, stems, roots, etc.

Biosynthesis of starch from glucose- The synthesis of starch requires the formation of adenosine 5'-diphosphate-glucose (ADPglucose) as a prerequisite.

Starch is a polymer formed by glucose molecules. It is formed by alpha-1,4 linkages between two glucose units. This bond is broken down during its digestion. Starch is stored in chloroplasts in the form of granules. It is stored in organs such as roots of the tapioca plant; the tuber of the potato; the stem pith of sago and the seeds of corn, wheat, and rice.

Animal cells have a different way of storing energy, that is, in the form of glycogen. Glucose is soluble in water, it is hydrophilic and so binds with water and then takes up much space. It is osmotically active but glucose in the form of starch, is not soluble, therefore it is osmotically inactive and can be stored much more compactly.

So, the correct answer is Starch.

Note: Starch is made up of two types of molecules- (a) the linear and helical amylose and (b) the branched amylopectin. It contains 20 to 25% of amylose and 75 to 80% of amylopectin by weight. Glycogen, the storage form of glucose in animals, is a more highly branched version of amylopectin.