Natural gum

Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large increase in a solution's viscosity, even at small concentrations. They are mostly botanical gums, found in the woody elements of plants or in seed coatings.

Natural gum of plum tree

Human uses

They are used in the food industry as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers, and in other industrial adhesives, binding agents, crystal inhibitors, clarifying agents, encapsulating agents, flocculating agents, swelling agents, foam stabilizers, etc.

Examples

Natural gums can be classified according to their origin. They can also be classified as uncharged or ionic polymers (polyelectrolytes). Examples include (with E number food additive code):

• Natural gums obtained from seaweeds:
  • Polyelectrolytes:
    • Agar (E406)
    • Alginic acid (E400) and sodium alginate (E401)
    • Carrageenan (E407)
• Natural gums obtained from non-marine botanical resources:
  • Polyelectrolytes:
    • Gum arabic (E414), from the sap of Acacia trees
    • Gum ghatti, from the sap of Anogeissus trees
    • Gum tragacanth (E413), from the sap of Astragalus shrubs
    • Karaya gum (E416), from the sap of Sterculia trees
  • 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
    • Dammar gum, from the sap of Dipterocarpaceae trees
    • Glucomannan (E425), from the konjac plant
    • Psyllium seed husks, from the Plantago plant
    • Tara gum (E417), from the seeds of the tara tree
• Natural gums produced by bacterial fermentation:
  • Polyelectrolytes:
    • Gellan gum (E418)
  • Uncharged:
    • Xanthan gum (E415)