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Monthly Archives: February 2018

Evaluation of The Sesbania Gum Powder
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There has been a lot of interest in the plant gums in the recent years due to their diverse pharmaceutical applications in various industries. Some of these applications include usage as protective colloids in suspensions, gelling agents and diluents, and even as bases in suppository.

Research has shown that the sesbania gum yields a very high percentage of mucilage going up to approximately 33 % of the total content. It contains high molecular weight polysaccharides made up of galactan and mannan units that are combined through the glycosidicbonds, thus making it very similar in structure to other well known hydrocolloids.

Extraction

The gum is extracted from sesbania seeds, and occurs as a white loose milky powder which is soluble in water and insoluble in organic solvents. In cold water it disperses to form the viscous solution that is much higher than that of other natural hydrocolloids.

Specification of the sesbania gum powder

The main contents contributing to industrial usage are the viscosity. When this is determined using the “brooke field viscometer, at temperature of 25 degrees centigrade, it give a range of 2500 cps minimum to 5000 cps maximum. This level is high and can be utilized for various industrial applications. The powder has a PH range of 5.5 to 7.0 and has been seen to have very low heavy metal content.

Some Industrial applications

  • The sesbania gum is used in the manufacturing of dye thickeners and as a sizing agent in the textile and other industries.
  • Flocculation process; the powder is heavily used as a flocculant in the waste water treatment. It has also been used up in the mining industry as an important floatation agent, used in the separation of minerals from the waste particles.
  • In the petroleum industry, the sesbania gum powder is used as a blockingagent, water resistance – reduction agent and tackifier used in the preparation of fluid cracking for enhancement of oil production rate.
  • It has emerged that the sesbania seed can be used in the manufacturing of feed for animals such as bird feed mixtures as well as a cover crop for birds.

 

Properties of the Sesbania Gum Powder

Research has shown that under certain temperature regimes the sesbania gum will behave like certain gums like the carob gum while at much higher concentration it exhibits properties of the guar gum. This discovery has important implications in industry as it has shown that the product can be used to replace the much more expensive hydrocolloids in the market.  Other important characteristics that are unique to the sesbania gum powder include its good release profile, physical stability and good spreadibility which are important to many manufacturing processes.

Production Advantages

Research has shown that the sesbania plant can grow on alkaline soils as well as water logged soils. This is a special property that has not being exhibited by many other plants. This creates a competitive advantage for the sesbania production which can make it more easily available and affordable to sesbania gum manufacturers.

 

Fenugreek Gum Powder – Business Opportunities and Challenges
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The fenugreek plant is among the important plants in industry and belongs to the family fabaceae. The plant is native to the area extending from Iran to northern India. It is also one of the oldest cultivated medicinal plants and therefore its main usage is in the pharmaceutical industry. In this industry, the plant has been found to contain several compounds such as;

• Diosgenin. These are hypolipidemic and antidiabetic action, as well as chemotherapeutic activity

• Saponins; these have been found to have hypocholesterolemic activity

• Flavanoids; Antioxidant activity

• Polyphenols: Antioxidant activity in the body

• Galactomanans; Anti-diabetic activity

Hydrocolloid Properties

fenugreek gum powder and fenugreek seeds

Research has shown that the fenugreek gum powder increases viscosity with increase in temperature. It has also been found to have the “non – Newtonian or sheer thinning” viscosity characteristics. This happens because its chemical structure has a fully substituted backbone, and therefore does not interact well with other hydrocolloids. This unique galactomannan has a mannose backbone grafted with galactose units in an average ratio of 1:1. The purified powder of the powder has very good interfacial activity compared to many other galactomanans.

This leads to formation of very good oil in water emulsions with smaller droplet sizes and longer term stability of the molecules. The fenugreek gum powder has been found to adsorb(precipitate) on the oil interface to form a relatively thick interfacial film leading to more stable emulsions than any other films from other galactomanans.
The fenugreek gum powder, unlike other types of hydrocolloids, is therefore unique in reducing the surface tension of the fluid. This particular property helps to prevent mixture of fluids against flocculation and coalescence. When this property is combined with the water holding ability of the gum, it has been found that the gum can be used in the manufacturing of cosmetics.

Food and Beverage Industry

Nutritional value; 100 g of seeds of the fenugreek have been found to provide more than 65% of the dietary fiber due to the high fiber content present in the food. It has been found to have a great ability to change the texture of the foods.

Food Stabilizer

In modern food technology, the powder is used as a stabilizer, adhesive and emulsifying agent due to the fibre, protein and gum content. Its protein has been found to be more soluble at alkaline PH of 11. Some of the proteins found in the fenugreek gum powder include the globulin, histidine, albumin and lecithin. In usage, the molecular weight of the fenugreek gum increases with increased gum concentration or reduction in the residual protein attached.

Conclusion

The fenugreek gum powder has gained popularity as a hydrocolloid with increasing usage in many industries in the world. Its main uses are in the food industry as a thickening and emulsifying agent. It is also useful as a source of many nutritional elements such as proteins, vitamins and a high source of fiber in the body. It is also used to add aroma to foods due to the presence of various aromatic compounds in their structure.

What to Expect From the Guar Gum Business in the Year 2018 – 19
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In the last three years, the guar gum has been under pressure from major factors of production and marketing that had a heavy effect on the entire supply chain. These factors included poor production, poor demand and poor crude prices. There has been a good sign of recovery in the period 2016-2017, as there was witnessed an approximately 30% increase in the prices. This trend is expected to continue well into 2018. According to data from several physical markets, the sentiment has been fairly neutral with most markets closing the day at the same prices of guar seed or at slightly lower prices. In the market of hanumangarh for example,there was no absolute change in prices of the guar seed loose by the end of day of January 29th trading. The prices of guar seed in the market of Nohar also remained the same.

Cultivation Area
By the mid of the year 2017, it is estimated that the total cultivated area was in the rain fed zones and the productivity per hectare estimated at 200 kilograms of the powder per hectare. This was considered much lower than expected and also coming from a lower cultivated area as compared to the year 2016. Rajasthan and Gujarat are the two major producers of the guar seed and low planting and production acreage was reported. There was an approximately 10% drop in the production acreage which ultimately translate to reduced supply.

Poor crop performance
It is also noteworthy that the prevailing climatic conditions did not quite favor guar production. It has been noted that areas with irrigated crops have experienced better production and the recorded weight of seed is also very good. This translates to better recovery of the guar splits from the guar seeds.

Demand versus supply
With the perceived reduced production and increasing USA shale gas output, it is expected that there will be a generally positive trend in prices of the product. The decline in the prices towards the end of the year 2017was attributed to higher carry forward stocks by both traders and farmers.

There has been rapid recovery in the crude oil prices and advancements in technology used in shale gas production has seen many of the oil rigs come back to full production in the united states and the world. This spells good times for guar gum powder producers in the year 2018 and going forward. The exports of the fast hydrsesation guar gum powder to Norway were also noted to have increased by up to 52 % which is a good indicator of the market direction.

Future Outlook
There has been a continuous average growth rate in the guar gum powder demand of approximately 8.8% per annum and this trend is bound to continue. Increasing research and development activities has led to more and more applications of the guar gum powder being discovered every day, the future looks good for the guar producers and the value chain will benefit.

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