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Food additives data book - wordpres

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Polysaccharides 726<br />

NAME: Tragacanth gum<br />

CATEGORY: Polysaccharides<br />

FOOD USE: Salad dressings/ Sauces/ Baked goods/ Confectionery/ All food products<br />

SYNONYMS: CAS 9000-65-1/ EINECS 232-552-5/ E413/ Gum tragacanth/ Gum dragon<br />

MOLECULAR MASS: Variable, generally approx. 840,000<br />

ALTERNATIVE FORMS: Tragacanth gum is slightly acidic, so different salt forms are possible, chiefly calcium, sodium and<br />

magnesium<br />

PROPERTIES AND APPEARANCE: White/off-white powder, granules or yellowish ribbons<br />

SOLUBILITY % AT VARIOUS Tragacanth is composed of water-soluble tragacanthin and water-swellable bassorin. Generally,<br />

TEMPERATURE/pH COMBINATIONS: tragacanth gum is soluble in sucrose solutions, sodium chloride solution and partially soluble in 70%<br />

ethanol (tragacanthin). Solubility in vegetable oils and propylene glycol is limited. Maximum viscosity<br />

is observed at pH 8<br />

FUNCTION IN FOODS: Stabiliser; thickener; crystallisation inhibitor<br />

ALTERNATIVES: Gum ghatti; Karaya gum (application-dependent)<br />

TECHNOLOGY OF USE IN FOODS: Tragacanth gum should be dispersed in cold water and heated to 80°C for 10 minutes to hydrate the<br />

polysaccharide. A high shear mixer will aid dispersion, although prolonged shear of high molecularweight<br />

polymers will reduce the viscosity.<br />

Tragacanth gum is a complex polysaccharide mixture composed of neutral arabinogalactan and<br />

polymers composed primarily of alpha-D- (1Æ4) galacturonic acid with galactose, xylose and fucose<br />

substituents. There is also thought to be some methylation and associated protein<br />

SYNERGISTS: None known<br />

ANTAGONISTS: None known<br />

FOOD SAFETY ISSUES: Mildly toxic. LD 50 (oral, rat) 16.4g/kg. The powder is combustible

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