Bene gum was investigated for its physicochemical and structural properties in comparison to gum arabic and gum tragacanth. Elemental analysis of the Bene gum sample revealed sodium and potassium content to be 57.21 and 0.95 ppm, respectively. According to the rheological properties, all gum solutions exhibited non-Newtonian, shear-thinning in the concentration of 1% (w/w). Both storage modulus G' and loss modulus G″ of all gums demonstrated elastic properties. The GC-MS analysis of dichloromethane extract confirmed the presence of eight constituents and α-pinene is the predominant constituent. The NMR spectra of the gum sample showed resemblance in individual sugar ingredients and the specific patterns of gum were observed. FTIR spectra of the studied gums displayed the presence of the same functional groups in the three gums. XRD studies revealed the amorphous nature of Bene gum. DSC and TGA thermograms were characteristic for each gum. Major thermal transitions were determined.
Keywords: Gum tragacanth; food; natural hydrocolloid; polysaccharide; thermal analysis.