Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large increase in a solution’s viscosity , even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents , gelling agents , emulsifying agents , and stabilizers . In other industries, they are also used as adhesives , binding agents , crystal inhibitors, clarifying agents , encapsulating agents, flocculating agents , swelling agents, foam stabilizers, etc. Most often these gums are found in the woody elements of plants or in seed coatings.
Natural gums can be classified according to their origin. They can also be classified as uncharged or ionic polymers (polyelectrolytes ). Examples include (E number food additive code):
Natural gums obtained from seaweeds :
Natural gums obtained from non-marine botanical resources:
Polyelectrolytes:
Uncharged:
Guar gum (E412), from guar beans
Locust bean gum (E410), from the seeds of the carob tree
Beta-glucan , from oat or barley bran
Chicle gum , an older base for chewing gum obtained from the chicle tree
Dammar gum , from the sap of Dipterocarpaceae trees
Glucomannan (E425), from the konjac plant
Mastic gum , a chewing gum from ancient Greece obtained from the mastic tree
Psyllium seed husks , from the Plantago plant
Spruce gum , a chewing gum of American Indians obtained from spruce trees
Tara gum (E417), from the seeds of the tara tree
Natural gums produced by bacterial fermentation :
Polyelectrolytes:
Uncharged: