The term 'gum', in its broadest sense, refers to both hydrophobic and hydrophilic substances of high molecular weight which usually exhibit colloidal properties when dispersed in an appropriate solvent. Hydrophobic substances often called gums include high molecular weight hydrocarbons and other petroleum products, rubbers, certain synthetic polymers and resinous saps which often exude from evergreens. More specifically, the term gum applies to plant polysaccharides or their derivatives which are dispersible in either cold or hot water to produce viscous solutions or suspensions. As much as three-quarters of the dry weight of plants may be polysaccharide and, consequently, such substances are of wide occurrence. The most important gums, however, are those which are readily obtainable in large amounts from the plant. Some of these gums are used industrially and, indeed, many have been known since ancient times. One of the chief sources of such polysaccharides is seaweed which furnishes agar, algin and carrageenin while seed gums, such as gum guar and locust bean gum, are also important, particularly from the point of view that the plant which produces the seeds is often grown extensively as a food crop. In contrast to these naturally occurring gums, other gums are obtained from cellulose, one of the main components of the plant cell wall, and starch, a food reserve polysaccharide, by esterification and etherification. Commercially, however, the most important gums are plant exudates and most plant families have been found to include species which exude gums to a greater or lesser degree. In this context, the term 'exudate gum' strictly refers to those commercially important gums which exude in copious amounts from shrubs or low-growing trees, forming, on exposure to the atmosphere, glossy nodules or flakes which are usually brown or yellow in colour. These gum producing trees grow predominantly in Africa or Asia indicating the climatic requirements for their growth.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:578322 |
| Date | January 1981 |
| Creators | Sanderson, George R. |
| Contributors | Aspinall, G. O. |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/7697 |
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