Dextrin
or DEXTRINE, in chemistry, (C6H10O5)n, starch gum, British gum; obtained by the action of boiling dilute sulphuric acid on starch, and afterward neutralizing with chalk; if boiled for a longer time the dextrin is converted into dextrose. Dextrin can also be formed by heating starch to between 170° to 200° C.
It is a gummy amorphous mass, soluble in water, and precipitated by alcohol. It is called dextrin on account of its dextro-rotary action on polarized light.
Dextrin is formed in germinating seeds DEXTROSE by the action of an azotized substance called diastase. Dextrin is used as a substitute for gum.