Gelling agent: Gellan gum

Gellan gums are gelling polymers. It has only relatively recently been introduced as a gelling agent. Gellation requires divalent cations in the media and in general gellan gums provide a more transparent matrix.

Gellan gum first received approval for food use in Japan in 1988. It is a microbial polysaccharide derived from the organism Pseudomonas elodea, is a linear polymer with a tetrasaccharide repeat unit consisting of glucose, glucuronic acid, glucose and rhamnose.

It is now approved for food, nonfood, cosmetic and pharmaceutical use in the USA, Canada, Australia and many other countries in Latin America South America, Asia and the European Union.

Gellan gum is used commercially in a wide range of food applications:
*Water based gels
*Fabricated foods
*Bakery applications
*Pie fillings and puddings
*Dairy foods
*Beverages
*Confections
*Fruit applications

Gellan gums can be used in milk based products and it is possible to hydrate gellan gum directly in milk by heating to above 75 °C.

In dairy products at acid pH (such as yogurt, sour cream, or direct acidified milk gels) it is necessary to include another hydrocolloids (such as CMC or guar gum) to act as a protective colloid and prevent precipitation of the milk protein.

In pharmaceuticals application, gellan gum has been used as a novel drug-delivery vehicle, in film formation for transdermal for drug delivery and as a component in controlled –released system.
Gelling agent: Gellan gum

Gums

Gums are defined as water soluble or swellable polysaccharides and polysaccharides derivatives. 

Polysaccharides are used in the food industry because they are widely available, usually of low cost and non toxic.

Distinct from polysaccharides that form gels are a group of polysaccharides that are called gums.

The principal property of polysaccharides gums is they have a high affinity for water and give high viscosity aqueous solutions, but are not able to form gel.

The reason for this is that all gums possess structures that incorporate a very high degree of branching or highly interrupted chains.

This prevents the formation of junction zones that are a feature of polysaccharide gels.

Gums are used by the food industry to thicken, increase viscosity of gel, stabilize, and/or emulsify certain processed foods. They generally thicken or gel aqueous systems at low concentrations.

Gums commonly used in foods are starches, cellulose derivatives, guar gum, locust bean gum, pectin, algin, carrageenan, xanthan and gum arabic and to a much lesser extent agar and gums, ghatti, karaya and tragacanth.

They impart body, texture, and mouthfeel to foods, while also making it less likely that dispersed ingredients will separate.

Gums are also used in many frozen products because they control crystal growth, yield optimal texture, and make the food more stable in the freezing and thawing process.
Gums