Starch and non‐starch carbohydrates–from basic science to nanotechnologies and applied biomedicine

Abstract

Dear readers and authors of STARCH-STÄRKE; On behalf of the entire editorial office we wish you a happy and healthy new year 2018. Founded in 1948 and first published in 1949 (as journal of the Fachverband der Stärke-Industrie e.V.), STARCH-STÄRKE is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Since its beginnings it has evolved to an internationally highly recognized medium in the carbohydrate research community. This is based on the steadily growing, highly appreciated input of our authors, guest editors, and reviewers. Thanks very much for your continued great support! The current ISI impact factor of 1.84 (which is the highest the journal has received so far) testifies to the good quality of manuscripts submitted to the journal. Furthermore it proves that there is growing interest in the journal content, especially based onmore application-oriented, innovative research on the one hand, and on the journal's broader scope on the other. We are happy that more readers and authors recognize that our journal is no longer focusing on starch-related research only but also on research into non-starch carbohydrates. This enlarges the visibility of STARCH-STÄRKE in other communities and supports our aim to grow even further in impact and quality. While, only a few years ago, submitted papers mainly covered basic biochemical and synthetic aspects of starch research, the journal now contains a growing number of papers on processing, nanotechnologies, and applications in various fields, including nutrition, biomedicine, and material sciences. We highlight here three of the most cited papers in 2017: Polysaccharide nanomaterial reinforced starch nanocomposites: A review (Starch/Stärke 2017, 69, 1500307) published in the Special issue “Starch based films and reviews 2017”; Preparation, health benefits and applications of resistant starch – a review (Starch/Stärke 2016, 68, 287–301) and Starch to value added biochemical (Starch/Stärke 2016, 68, 274–286), both published in the Special issue “Starch Nanocomposites and Nanoderivatives and Reviews 2016” From 2018, the journal coverage will be broadened to include recent development in the direction of more applied technology oriented research. Nevertheless STARCH-STÄRKE will of course still be THE forum to discuss general basic biochemical studies, as well. We are delighted that the first issue in 2018 will be a Special issue edited by Andreas Blennow on “Starch Bioengineering” which combines commissioned top-quality studies with a number of up-to date review articles, freely accessible in 2018 from the journal home page. Also, we are happy to announce that with the beginning of this year, there will be no longer any charges for figures published in color in print. Please feel invited to share your opinion of the journal's focus and presentation. Julia Reuter Christine Mayer STARCH-STÄRKE editorial office E-mail: starch@wiley.com