It is the gummy exudates obtained from the tree bark of Anogessius latifolia Wallich, belonging to family Combretaceae.
GHATTI GUM
Synonyms
Ghati, Gutty.
Biological Source
It is the gummy exudates obtained from the tree bark of Anogessius latifolia Wallich, belonging
to family Combretaceae.
Geographical Source
It is most commonly found in the forests of the
sub-Himalayan tract in Sivalic hills as well as in the mountainous region
throughout India at the altitude of 1,200 m. It has got this name from its
transportation routes, as they are obtained after their travel through mountain
‘ghats’.
Cultivation and Collection
Artificial incisions are made on the tree bark in the
absence of rain and gum is picked up in the month of April. The gums are graded
into different grades depending upon the colour of the gum. The lighter the gum
the superior its grade is. About two to three grades of Ghatti are available in
the United States. The No. l Grade has low levels of ash and high viscosity.
Gum is dried under sun for many days and then pulverized. It is then subjected
to undergo various processes like sifting, aspiration and density table
separation, for the removal of impurities.
Characters
Anogessius latifolia twig
Chemical Constituents
It consists of the calcium salt of a complex high molecular
weight polysaccharide made up of sugars and uronic acid units. One of the
polysaccharide acid ghattic acid contains mainly arabinose, galactose, mannose,
xylose and galac-turonic acid. On hydrolysis of gum ghatti, it also affords
aldobiouronic acid 6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and
D-galactose which is also found in gum acacia. Complete analysis of ghatti gum
shows 26.3% pentosans, 7.6% methyl pentosan, 7.6% galactan, 15.8% moisture,
about 3% ash and smaller quantities of riboflavin.
Identification Tests
1. Aqueous solution (5%) of gum ghatti
treated with Million’s reagent gives fine precipitate.
2. Aqueous solution of gum treated with
2% gelatin solution gives white precipitates.
3. White precipitate is produced with
10% solution of tannic acid.
4. With water the gum forms viscous
colourless mucilage which is glairy and ropy.
Uses
Gum ghatti is used as a very good emulsifier, stabilizer and
thickener in pharmaceutical, food and also in ceramic industry. It is an
efficient binder for the compressed tablets which is comparable with acacia gum
and starch paste. It gives stable oil in water emulsion therefore used in the
formulation of oil soluble vitamin preparation.
Gum is edible. It is administered as a good tonic to women
after child birth. It is extensively use in the pure state in calico printing
and in confectionery. It is good stabilizer for ice cream in 0.5%
concentration. The gum also finds its applications in the petroleum industry as
a drilling mud conditioner.
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