boric acid and lime - reaction with starch

I saw some beautiful bamboo laminated flooring in The Home Depot, and
was curious about how they were made. They look almost like maple
wood flooring.

The cut bamboo strips are placed in a boiling solution of boric acid
and lime to reduce the starch content. Reference: this link (which
also has some pretty pictures of what can be done with bamboo strips):
http://books.google.com/books?id=dLMXhzo-T0UC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=bamboo+starch+boil+boric+acid&source=web&ots=G8ML-YohMe&sig=rcJBaT2g61qKXixrwBnW6Q49xh8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA84,M1

What exactly is going on here?

I'm guessing that the boric acid and lime de-polymerize the starch
into glucose... is this true? Or are the glucose molecules themselves
destroyed?

What is the mechanism involved here?

Once the bamboo strips are removed from the cauldron, what remains in
solution?

Thanks,

Michael
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: boric acid and lime - reaction with starch
    ... The cut bamboo strips are placed in a boiling solution of ... and lime to reduce the starch content. ... Once the bamboo strips are removed from the cauldron, ... and some of the lignins in the bamboo. ...
    (sci.chem)
  • Local Source
    ... It got to the point where getting appropriate bamboo strips was a real pain ... or cost too much to have it shipped. ... I ended up going to a World Market store and buying a bamboo shade. ...
    (rec.kites)