Tamarind seed is an underutilized byproduct of the tamarind pulp industry. Only a small portion of the seed, in the form of tamarind kernel powder (TKP), is used as a sizing material in the textile, paper, and jute industries. The kernel with testa has to be sorted out manually to get clean kernel without testa content.
Tamarind trees are there in most parts of the country. Northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and other states like Orissa, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu etc. are major cultivators. The tamarind fruit is used for edible purpose and seeds are generally discarded. The seeds have value and with little effort it can be processed to produce other value added products such as starch. This starch is used for sizing in textile industry. This is one of the cheapest available non edible starches. The process of manufacture is simple and know how is easily available. The yield is about 60%.
Tamarind starch is used by textile units and industries manufacturing starch based adhesives. Plywood industry is yet another bulk consumer. It is widely used in Mosquito Coil, Agarbatti, Plywood and other industries.