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Description

• Arrowroot is a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock) of several tropical plants, traditionally Maranta arundinacea, but also Florida arrowroot from Zamia integrifolia, and tapioca from cassava (Manihot esculenta), which is often labelled as arrowroot. Polynesian arrowroot or pia (Tacca leontopetaloides), and Japanese arrowroot (Pueraria lobata), also called kudzu, are used in similar ways.
• Arrowroot (Maranta arundinaceae L.) belongs to Marantaceae family and is a large perennial herb found in tropical forest. The plant is naturalized in Florida, but is grown mainly in the West Indies (Jamaica and St. Vincent), Australia, Southeast Asia and South and East Africa (Charles et al., 2016). In Brazil, there are three important cultivars: common, creole and banana (Leonel & Cereda, 2002). Economically, arrowroot has been used especially for starch extraction, due to the high starch content in its rhizomes. Arrowroot starch has the advantage of excellent digestibility (Villas-Boas & Franco, 2016), gelling ability (Charles et al., 2016; Hoover, 2001), and special physicochemical characteristics such as high amylose content (ranged from 16 to 27%, Moorthy, 2002), which is desirable for the production of films with good functional properties (Fakhoury et al., 2012; Li et al., 2011; Romero-Bastida, Bello-Pérez, Velazquez, & Alvarez-Ramirez, 2015; Tharanathan, 2003).

Uses:

• Arrowroot is a root vegetable often sold as a powder. It's used as a thickening agent and gluten-free flour. Many of its health benefits are associated with its starch content, which may promote weight loss, treat diarrhea, and stimulate your immune system.
• Arrowroot is used for a long-term disorder of the large intestines that causes stomach pain (irritable bowel syndrome or IBS), diarrhea, other stomach and intestinal disorders, painful gums, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support many of these uses.