부산대학교 도서관

Review of the influence of the extraction and purification process on the characteristics and properties of locust bean gum. The carob tree is a species cultivated for its seeds in Mediterranean countries. These seeds contain an endosperm rich in galactomannans, which are used by the food industry for their texturing properties. After harvesting, the seeds pass through a decutilation and a degermination process. Cleaned endosperms are then milled to give crude locust bean gum. The purification step consists of solubilization of the flour followed by precipitation of the galactomannans. Purification influences the characteristics of the resulting gum. The solubilization temperature is the parameter that has the greatest effect on the final characteristics of the product. Depending on whether the solubilization temperature is hot or cold, galactomannans with different structural characteristics (and thus with very different physical properties in aqueous solutions) will be selected.