Gum



A gum is a natural polysaccharide capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even in small amounts and concentrations. Gums are used by humans as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers, and for adhesives, binding agents, crystallization inhibitors, clarifying agents, encapsulating agents, flocculating agents, swelling agents, foam stabilizers, etc. Most often, gums are found in woody places of plants or in seed coatings.


 * Important gums made by plants:
 * Gum arabic - obtained from the sap of Acacia trees
 * Gum ghatti - obtained from the sap of Anogeissus trees
 * Gum tragacanth - obtained from the sap of Astragalus shrubs
 * Gum karaya - obtained from the sap of Sterculia trees
 * Guar gum - obtained from the guar bean
 * Locust bean gum - obtained from the seeds of the carob tree
 * Beta-glucan - obtained from oat or barley bran
 * Chicle gum - obtained from the chicle tree
 * Dammar gum - obtained from the sap of Dipterocarpaceae trees
 * Glucomannan - obtained from the konjac plant
 * Mastic gum - obtained from the mastic tree
 * Psyllium seed husks - obtained from the Plantago plant
 * Spruce gum - obtained from spruce trees
 * Tara gum - obtained from the seeds of the tara tree