International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 93 (2016) 476–482

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International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijbiomac

Assessment of physical and structural characteristics of almond gum

Mudasir Bashir, Sundaramoorthy Haripriya ∗
Department of Food Science and Technology, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry 605014, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Almond gum was investigated for its physical and structural characteristics in comparison to gum arabic.
Received 2 March 2016 Among physical properties, bulk density was found to be 0.600 ± 0.12 g/mL and 0.502 ± 0.20 g/mL for
Received in revised form 2 September 2016 almond and gum arabic respectively. Almond gum (0.820 ± 0.13 g/mL) displayed the maximum value for
Accepted 4 September 2016
tapped density. Compressibility index of exudate gum powders varied from 26.79 ± 1.47 to 37.46 ± 0.50%
Available online 5 September 2016
and follow the order gum arabic > almond gum. Almond gum demonstrated good flow characteristics
when compared to gum arabic. True density showed significant difference (p < 0.05) among the exudate
Keywords:
samples and it was recorded higher for gum arabic. The maximum value of porosity recorded in case of
Almond gum
Gum arabic
gum arabic indicates the presence of large number of interstitial spaces among its particles. Almond gum
Flow properties had fair flow character while good for the other exudate gum powder. Almond gum had relatively higher
X-ray diffractogram mineral content than gum arabic. The oil holding capacity of exudate gums varied from 0.87 ± 0.05 to
0.92 ± 0.02 g/g. Exudate powder samples were found to lie in the first quadrant of the hue angle (0–90◦ )
corresponding to the range of reddish–purple to yellow. The absence of peaks in the X-ray diffractograms
of exudate samples reflects their amorphous nature. SEM micrographs revealed a lot of variability in shape
and size of the exudate particles.
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
A large number of plant gum exudates have been discovered in
the last few decades. The typical examples of this category include
gum arabic, gum ghatti, gum karaya and tragacanth gum. These
natural gums, secreted by trees and shrubs, solidify upon expo-
sure to air and heat of the sun which hardens them into different
shapes including tears, semisolid nodules and lumps. Phenomenon
of exudation does not happen in normal trees. However, it is an
absolute response against the stimuli of changing external environ-
ment. Exudate gums are produced in response to biotic and abiotic
stressors like infection, insect attack, and mechanical or chemical
injury and such phenomena of exudation are known as gummosis
[1]. These exudates are therefore produced as a result of defence
to seal wounds, site of infection or injury of a tree. Gum yield is
influenced by various controlling factors such as tapping intensity,
rainfall, and temperature. Ballal et al. [2] found positive correla-
tion of yield with tapping intensity, rainfall and the minimum and
maximum temperatures at tapping time, and negative correlation
with tapping time and the minimum and maximum temperatures
at gum collection. Gum production increases at high temperatures
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: shprieya@gmail.com (S. Haripriya).
and limited moisture [3]. Yields can be increased by making inci-
sions in the bark or stripping it from the tree or shrub [4]. Vilela and
Ravetta [5] reported increased exudation from the wounded trees
of genus Prosopis (P. chilensisand P. nigra) during late summers. It is
evident from earlier studies that exudate gums are safe for human
consumption as being used as pharmaceutical substances or as
food additives in addition to other industrial uses [6–8]. They vary
in their physicochemical and functional properties to a great deal
which is due to source specificity and most importantly governed
by discrepancy of agro-climatic conditions.
Physical properties like bulk density, tapped density, porosity,
wettability, particle size and their distribution are the indicators
that determine the quality of powders [9]. These also affect their
functionality. Reducing food substances to desirable particle sizes
are primarily important for mixing two different food ingredi-
ents for formulating a uniformly blended finished food product.
Any difference in the particle size of ingredients may result in
their improper mixing due to weight discrepancy leading to non-
uniform (defective) finished product. Therefore, the knowledge of
density and its related properties will be instrumental in the suc-
cessful development of food formulations involving exudate gums
as ingredients.
Almond (Prunus dulcis), native to central Asia (Iran, India and
Pakistan), belongs to rosaceae family [3]. In India, it is usu-
ally cultivated for its nut production or as an ornamental plant.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.09.009
0141-8130/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 M. Bashir, S. Haripriya / International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 93 (2016) 476–482 477

It is commonly known as Badam in Indian subcontinent and
spatially distributed in the states of Jammu and Kashmir and
Himachal Pradesh. Natural polysaccharides are known to possess
anti-cancerous [10,11], antioxidant and anti-inflammatory prop-
erties [12–14]. Therefore, a growing quest is developing among
food scientists for new sources of biopolymers to be used in food
industry. In this direction, almond gum has been identified as a
novel gum, an exudate collected from trunk, branches and fruits
of almond tree that could be utilized in food and allied industries
on a large scale. Ethylene or ethylene-releasing compounds such as
ethephon (2-chloroethyl-dioxido-oxophosphorane) stimulate gum
formation [15] in trees and fruits of stone-fruit species of the
Rosaceae family, such as almonds [16]. Almond gum has received
less attention in India, resulting in total wastage of this exudate.
The state can produce sizeable quantities of this gum which could
accomplish to broaden the spectrum of its use in food products.
This natural polysachharide is almost colourless, odourless and
non-toxic which may qualify it as an additive in wide variety of
food systems. Almond gum is a natural polymer composed, on dry
weight basis, of proteins (2.45%), fats (0.85%) and carbohydrates
(92.36%). Carbohydrates comprise of arabinose (46.83%), galactose
(35.49%) and uronic acid (5.97%) with traces of rhamnose, mannose
and glucose [6]. The gum exudate is also a rich source of various
minerals including sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and
iron [17]. It is a better emulsifier than gum arabic [18] and a proven
antioxidant and antimicrobial source capable of enhancing biolog-
ical and functional properties in diverse food formulations [19].
Growing demand for exudate gums has prompted us towards the
discovery of new exudate gums that could substitute the major exu-
dates in diverse food applications with better functional properties
than the existing ones. The selection of an exudate gum as a food
additive will be determined by its physicochemical characteristics
and interaction with water [20,21]. To our knowledge there is no
such report available on exudate from almond tree. Therefore, the
aim of the present study was to evaluate the physical and struc-
tural characteristics of almond gum exudate in comparison to gum
arabic.
2. Materials and methods
base and a pile was formed at the base. The angle of repose was
then calculated as follows:
h
Angle of repose() = Tan −1 ( ) (1)
r
where h and r are the height and radius of the pile, respectively.
2.3.2. Compressibility index
The compressibility index of exudate gum was determined
according to Carr’s Index after determining bulk and tapped den-
sities. 20 g of the dried gum was taken into 50 mL graduated
measuring cylinder and the initial volume (V0 ) was recorded. The
cylinder was then tapped 100 times using bulk density apparatus
(ACM-157, Acmus Technocracy, New Delhi) to achieve a final vol-
ume (Vf ). The bulk density was calculated from the initial volume
and tapped density from the final volume after hundred tappings.
Carr’s Index was then determined by the following equation [22].
Tapped density − Bulk density
carr  s index = × 100 (2)
Tapped density
2.3.3. Hausner ratio
Hausner ratio measures cohesiveness of the exudate gum pow-
der. It was calculated using the measured values of bulk density
and tapped density as per the following equation.
Tapped density
Hausner ratio = (3)
Bulk density
2.3.4. True density
True density of exudate samples was measured using the
method as suggested by Santhalakshmy et al. [23]. Briefly, 1 g of
dried powder sample was transferred into a 10 mL measuring cylin-
der with a glass stopper. A total of 5 mL of petroleum ether was then
added to this sample and shaken for some time so that all the par-
ticles were suspended. Finally, the wall of the cylinder was rinsed
with 1 mL of petroleum ether and the total volume of the petroleum
ether and suspended particles were read. The powder density was
calculated as follows:

Weight of the powder (g)

2.1. Materials True density =
Total volume of petroleum ether and suspended particles (mL) − 6
(4)
Almond gum nodules were collected afresh by hand-picking
from different almond trees (Prunus dulcis) in Budgam, Jammu and
Kashmir, India during the month of August 2015. Gum arabic (Aca-
cia senegal) was obtained from Himedia Mumbai, India. 2.3.5. Porosity
Porosity was determined from the measured values of true den-
2.2. Sample preparation
sity and tapped density as given by the following formula.

The exudate gums were dried in hot air oven at 65 ◦ C. The True density − Tapped density
Porosity (%) = × 100 (5)
dried gum was milled to fine powder. The powdered gum exu- True density
date (almond or arabic) was mixed with deionized water and gently
stirred overnight on a magnetic stirrer for complete hydration of the 2.3.6. Moisture content
gum. Insoluble mass including hydrogel obtained post hydration Moisture content was expressed as percentage weight loss on
was separated by filtration using Whatman No.1 filter paper and drying (% LOD). 2 g of ground gum sample was weighed and oven
the filtrate was oven dried at 65 ◦ C. The dried gum was milled and dried at 105 ◦ C for 5 h to a constant weight. The experiment was
passed through sieve no. 100 and stored in dessicator for further done in triplicate. The percent loss on drying was then calculated
analysis. as follows Rankell et al. [24]:

2.3. Physicochemical properties weight of water in sample

% loss on drying = × 100 (6)
total weight o f dried sample
2.3.1. Determination of angle of repose
Angle of repose (␪) was measured using a fixed height funnel 2.3.7. Determination of protein, fat and carbohydrate
fitted at the height of 10 cm from the base (the funnel is 60◦ , 10 cm in The protein and fat content was analysed for exudate gums
diameter, 0.7 cm internal stem diameter with 9.6 cm stem length). using AOAC standard methods [25]. Carbohydrate was calculated
20 g of the powder was allowed to flow through the funnel into the by difference as given by Balaghi et al. [26].
478 M. Bashir, S. Haripriya / International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 93 (2016) 476–482

Table 1 2.4. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Physico-chemical characteristics of exudate gums.

Parameter Almond gum Gum arabic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra of exu-
Bulk density (g/mL) 0.600 ± 0.12 0.502 ± 0.20 date gum samples were recorded on an FTIR Spectrophotometer
Tapped density (g/mL) 0.820 ± 0.13 0.803 ± 0.25 (Thermo Nicolet Model: 6700, UK) at room temperature. The exu-
True density (g/mL) 1.037 ± 0.24 1.060 ± 0.32 date gum samples were mixed with KBr and made into pellets
Porosity (%) 42.06 ± 0.97 52.65 ± 0.19 before measurement. Standardization of instrument was carried
Hausner ratio 1.37 ± 0.03 1.60 ± 0.01
out using KBr pellet as blank and the spectra were recorded in the
Compressibility index (%) 26.79 ± 1.47 37.46 ± 0.50
Angle of repose (◦ ) 36.98 ± 0.93 34.75 ± 0.23 range of 400–4000 cm−1 .
Moisture content (%) 12.23 ± 0.12 10.77 ± 0.20
Carbohydrate (g/100 g) 82.26 ± 0.08 84.21 ± 0.18
2.5. X-ray diffraction
Protein (g/100 g) 1.41 ± 0.12 1.75 ± 0.19
Fat (g/100 g) 0.23 ± 0.06 0.37 ± 0.1
Ash (g/100 g) 3.86 ± 0.08 2.9 ± 0.07 X-ray diffraction analysis of samples was performed using X-
OHC (g/g) 0.92 ± 0.02 0.87 ± 0.05 ray diffractometer (Shimadzu, XRD 7000) operated at 30 mA (tube
Chromaticity 14.54 ± 0.09 12.10 ± 0.067
current) and 40 kV (target voltage) with Cu K␣ filtered radiation.
Hue Angle (◦ ) 80.18 ± 0.06 73.73 ± 0.08
aw 0.48 ± 0.00 0.39 ± 0.00
The scanning range for 2␪ values was set from 10◦ to 75◦ to cover
L* 82.90 ± 0.15 84.68 ± 0.20 all significant diffraction peaks of sample crystallites with a scan
a* 2.48 ± 0.00 3.39 ± 0.00 speed of 2◦ /min.
b* 14.29 ± 0.04 11.62 ± 0.06

All data were means of triplicates ± standard deviation 2.6. Scanning electron microscopy

Morphology of the exudate gum samples was analyzed by scan-

2.3.8. Determination of ash
The ash content was determined by following the method of
Yebeyen et al. [27]. 2 g of the exudate gum was first heated on a
burner in air to remove its smoke. Then it was burned in a muffle
furnace at 550 ◦ C. The ash content was expressed as a percentage
ratio of the weight of the ash to the oven dry weight of the powdered
gum.
ning electronic microscopy (Hitachi, S-3400N, and Tokyo, Japan).
The samples were mounted on aluminium stubs using double sided
adhesive tape to which the samples were fixed and afterwards were
coated with a thin layer of gold. An acceleration potential of 15 kV
was used during micrography.
2.7. Statistical analysis

2.3.9. Oil holding capacity
Oil holding capacity (OHC) was determined according to the
modified method described by Mirhosseini and Amid [9]. 0.5 g of
exudate powder sample was added to 10 mL of mustard oil in a
centrifuge tube. The resulting suspension was stirred for 2 min fol-
lowed by centrifugation at 1600 × g for 10 min. The supernatant
was decanted and the gain in weight was expressed as oil holding
capacity. It was then calculated by the following formula.
g  weight of wet sediment − weight of sample
OHC = (7)
g weight of sample
2.3.10. Water activity
Water activity of the powders was measured using an elec-
tronic dew point water activity meter (Aqualab Series 4TE, Decagon
Devices, Inc., Pullman, Washington, USA).
2.3.11. Tristumilus color values
The color of the sample powder was measured using Color-
flex (Hunter Associates Laboratory Inc., Reston, VA, USA). The CIE
L* (light d/ ark), a* (red g/ reen) and b* (yellow b/ lue) values were
obtained. Color intensity in terms of chroma (C*) was calculated by
the formula, C* = (a*2 + b*2 )1/2 , whereas hue angle (H◦ ) was calcu-
lated by the formula H◦ = tan−1 (b*/a*).
The data were analyzed statistically using package SPSS 20.0
(SPSS Inc. Chicago, USA). One way ANOVA was performed with sig-
nificance at p < 0.05. All the data are presented as the mean of three
determinations with the standard deviation.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Physicochemical properties
3.1.1. Bulk and tapped densities
The bulk density values of exudate gums are depicted in Table 1.
The values for bulk density (g/mL) were found to be 0.600 ± 0.1, and
0.502 ± 0.2 for almond gum and gum arabic exudates respectively.
It is reported to be influenced by various factors such as prepara-
tion, treatment, storage, particle size and moisture content. The
bulk density of the exudate gums was comparable with that of
reported for badam (Terminalia catappa) gum (0.721 ± 0.16 g/mL),
mangifera gum (0.74 g/mL), gum tragacanth (0.640 ± 0.00 g/mL)
and dioclea gum (0.564 ± 0.05) [22,28,29,30]. Tapped density is the
maximum compaction a powder can undergo under the impact of
external force. The interstitial spaces are very less when compared
to bulk volume. Upon comparing tapped density values of gum
exudates, almond gum (0.820 ± 0.013 g/mL) displayed the higher
value for tapped density. Results obtained for tapped density of
exudate gums were found similar to those reported for gum arabic

Table 2
Positions of FT-IR bands and their respective assignments in exudate gums.

Characteristic group Almond gum (cm−1 ) Gum arabic (cm−1 )

O H stretching vibration 3523.41 3526.35

C H stretching of CH2 group 2909.39 2910.87
COOH stretching 1625.4, 1436.91 1627.4, 1437.2
(1–4), (1–6) linkage of galactose and mannose 772.13 779.2
Uronic acid (COOH) 1436.91 1437.2
Galactose and mannose 884.6 844
 M. Bashir, S. Haripriya / International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 93 (2016) 476–482 479

Fig 1. FT-IR spectra of almond gum and gum arabic.

(0.86 g/mL), tragacanth gum (0.740 ± 0.01 g/mL) and Dioclea gum
(0.706 ± 0.01 g/mL) [29,31].
3.1.2. Compressibility index and hausner ratio
Compressibility index and Hausner ratio are the relative mea-
sures computed from the knowledge of bulk and tapped densities
that reflect powder’s ability to settle down or interparticulate inter-
actions that interfere with powder flow. Compressibility index of
exudate gum powders varied from 26.79 ± 1.47 to 37.46 ± 0.50 %
and follow the order gum arabic > almond gum. The compressibil-
ity is expressed as Carr’s index. The flowability of powders can be
predicted by knowing the compressibility index [32]. Powders with
the least compressibility indices therefore, exhibit excellent flow
characteristics [7,9]. Compressibility index value greater than 26
indicates poor flowability. Hausner ratio is the manifestation of
cohesion among the particles of gum powder. The powders hav-
ing Hausner values between 1.35 and 1.45 exhibit poor flow index
[33]. The Hausner ratio recorded for almond gum and gum arabic
was 1.37 ± 0.03 and 1.60 ± 0.01 respectively. Almond gum demon-
strated good flow characteristics when compared to gum arabic.
Hausner ratio for don gum (Prunus cerasoides) was reported as
1.33 ± 0.24 which was lower than the almond gum exudate [12].
480 M. Bashir, S. Haripriya / International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 93 (2016) 476–482

Fig. 2. X- ray diffractogram of almond gum and gum arabic.

3.1.3. True density, porosity and angle of repose

True density (g/mL) showed significant difference among the
exudate samples. It ranged between 1.037 ± 0.24 and 1.060 ± 0.32
(Table 1). The values of true density, reported for don gum
(1.67 ± 0.23 g/mL) and air dried grewia gum (2.0 ± 0.01 g/mL) were
comparatively higher than our exudate gums under study [12,34].
True density was comparatively higher for gum arabic. Poros-
ity is the fraction of total volume occupied by interstices found
among the particles of the exudate gum powder. It varied signifi-
cantly between the exudate samples and the values calculated were
42.06 ± 0.97 and 52.65 ± 0.19 % for almond gum and gum arabic
exudates respectively. The maximum value of porosity recorded in
case of gum arabic indicates the presence of large number of inter-
stitial spaces among its particles. Samples with higher values of
porosity are more prone to oxidative reactions than the ones with
lower values of the same attribute. In the current study, exudate
samples exhibited different angle of repose (Table 1). It measures
the powder resistance offered by frictional forces emanating from
the surface properties of granules [35]. Almond gum had fair flow
character while good for the other exudate gum powder [33]. It Fig. 3. Scanning electron micrographs of almond gum and gum arabic.
may also be influenced by drying procedure employed [9].

3.1.4. Chemical composition
Chemical composition of exudate gums is shown in Table 1. The
moisture content was determined as percent (%) loss on drying.
This intrinsic property affects the quality as well as shelf stability
of a powder sample. There was significant difference in moisture
content between the two exudate gums. Almond gum had the
higher moisture content when compared to gum arabic. Protein
found in both the exudate samples was very less as their composi-
tion is predominantly comprised of carbohydrate. Protein content
was found to vary significantly with sample. This moiety, although
less in amount, play an important role in lending emulsification
and foaming potential to the exudate gums. The ash content of
exudate samples represents their mineral content. The ash con-
tent for almond gum and gum arabic was 3.86 ± 0.08 g/100 g,
and 2.9 ± 0.07 g/100 g respectively. Bouaziz et al. [36] reported
3.28 ± 0.04 % of ash for the almond gum found in Tunisia.
3.1.5. Oil holding capacity
The oil holding capacity (OHC) of exudate gums is their ability
to absorb or hold oil. The oil holding capacity of gums vary sig-
nificantly as depicted in Table 1.The imbibed oil may include both
physically entrapped oil occupying the interstices of powder bed
and chemically engaged oil which might be credited to the pres-
ence of protein and fat moieties of the exudate gums. The content
and type of hydrophobic fraction present in the composition of
food material decides its extent of oil absorption [37]. The non-
polar groups present in the component constituents are lipophilic
in nature binding more and more lipid (oil) molecules. The dif-
ference in porosity and proportion of biopolymers like proteins
and fats of exudate samples may therefore reflect their variable
oil holding capacities.
3.1.6. Water activity
Water activity (aw ), an intrinsic property, measures free water
available in a food system. Based on its values the shelf life of a
particular food system is determined. Limited water activity of a
food article makes it resistant to microbial growth and deteriorative
biochemical reactions while higher water activity reduces its shelf
life. In the current study, there is variability in the values of water
activity of different exudate gum samples (Table 1). The water activ-
ity (aw ) values of exudate gum powders ranged from 0.39 to 0.48.
Lower water activity recorded for the gum powders reiterates their
longer shelf stability. Bouaziz et al. [38] obtained higher aw for gum
arabic (0.53 ± 0.01) and almond gum (0.55 ± 0.03).
3.1.7. Tristumilus color values
Color of the exudate gum samples were read as L*, a* and b* and
from their knowledge the derived color properties like chromatic-
 M. Bashir, S. Haripriya / International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 93 (2016) 476–482
ity and hue were calculated. The color properties are presented in
Table 1. Gum arabic exhibited the highest value for lightness (L*)
followed by almond gum whilst a* (redness) and b* (yellowness)
varied significantly from 2.48 ± 0.00 to 3.39 ± 0.00 and 11.62 ± 0.06
to 14.29 ± 0.04 respectively. Similarly lightness of zedo gum (Amyg-
dalus scoparia) exudate was highest followed by yellowness and
redness [39]. Chromaticity parameter was measured as Chroma
(C*) which denotes the saturation of color. Almond gum was found
to exhibit the highest chromaticity. Hue angle represents the per-
ception of color. From the results, exudate powder samples were
found to lie in the first quadrant of the hue angle (0–90◦ ) corre-
sponding to the range of reddish-purple to yellow.
3.2. IR-spectroscopy
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is used to
identify different organic functional groups present in natural
substances. FT-IR spectra recorded for different exudate gum sam-
ples presented complex vibrational modes at low wavenumbers
(Fig. 1). The spectral bands falling between 3000–3600 cm−1 and
2800–3000 cm−1 correspond to O H and C H stretching modes
respectively. Peaks observed at 3523.41 cm−1 (almond gum), and
3526.35 cm−1 (gum arabic) in the spectra are therefore due to
the presence of O H groups only. While the major IR-bands at
2909.39 cm−1 and 2910.87 cm−1 observed for almond gum and
gum arabic, were assigned to the vibrational modes of C H
group. Peaks present in the spectra at 1625.4 cm−1 1627.4 cm−1 ,
1437.2 cm−1 and 1436.91 cm−1 correspond to the presence of
COOH (carboxylic group). Carboxylic acids show characteristic
O H in-plane bending band at 1430 cm−1 [40]. Peaks centered
at 1436.9 cm−1 (almond gum), and 1437.2 cm−1 (gum arabic)
wavenumbers may be due to the symmetrical stretching of car-
boxylic groups of uronic acid residues of gum polysaccharides
(Table 2). However, these wavenumbers of exudate samples dif-
fer slightly in their intensities. The peaks observed between
800 cm−1 and 1200 cm−1 represented C O, C C & C O C stretch-
ing, and C O H, C H bending modes of the polymer backbone
[17,41,42]. These results concur with those reported previously
[38]. Bands identified in the spectra at 772.13 cm−1 (almond gum)
and 779.2 cm−1 (gum arabic) may be assigned to 1–4 linkage of
galactose and 1–6 linkage of mannose [41]. FT-IR bands centered
at 1072.32 cm−1 and 884.67 cm−1 in the spectrum of almond gum
may correspond to the presence of galactan [43]. Whilst the peaks
at wavenumbers, 1027.62 cm−1 and 844 cm−1 present in the FT-IR
curve of gum arabic exudate may be ascribed to arabinogalactan. In
this study, the bands lying between 700 cm−1 and 400 cm−1 were
attributed to the skeletal mode vibrations of the pyranose rings
[44].
3.3. X-ray diffractometry
X-ray diffraction patterns of exudate gums are presented in
Fig. 2. No peaks were observed in the diffractograms of all the
exudate samples. The absence of peaks in the curves reflects the
amorphous nature of samples. Lack of peaks in the diffraction
pattern of badam gum revealed its amorphous character [22].
Diffraction curves of gum arabic and almond gum showed some
resemblance in their shapes. However, the diffraction curves of
these two exudates differ slightly in their intensities. This discrep-
ancy in their diffractograms therefore conforms to the diversity of
their orderliness.
3.4. SEM analysis
The scanning electron micrographs of exudate gum samples are
depicted in Fig. 3. The particles of exudates exhibited a lot of vari-
481
ability in terms of their shape and size. The gum samples were
viewed at 500× magnification (scale bar 100 ␮m). The shapes of
the particles were irregular and diverse in their forms. Gum ara-
bic had the smallest sized particles as observed after comparing
the micrographs of all the samples. Acetyl groups are essential for
maintaining the structural integrity of exudate gum for its particu-
late nature [45]. Earlier studies reported the diversity in shape and
size of exudate particles [7,12]. However, the particles of almond
gum manifested irregular as well as smooth surfaces. Bouaziz et al.
[46] reported pores on the rough surface of almond gum particles.
Particle size may influence the dissolution rate of the gum powders
besides other factors.
4. Conclusion
Comparative analysis of almond gum with gum arabic was con-
sidered with a view to exploit the nature of this novel exudate in
order to specify its use as an additive in food systems. In this study,
almond gum exhibited better physical properties when compared
to gum arabic. Low compressibility for almond gum reflects its bet-
ter flowability than gum arabic which is a desirable property in
packaging of food powders. Use of almond gum could also be appre-
ciated in wake of its high mineral content in foods. FT-IR of both
the exudates presented characteristic spectra of polysaccharides.
XRD diffraction analysis reiterated the amorphous nature of the
two exudates.
Acknowledgement
This project is financially supported by the Department of Food
Science and Technology, Pondicherry Central University, India.
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