How Commercially important Tree Gum Exudates can be differentiated

Abstract

The commercially important tree gum exudates produced in India are gum Arabic, gum ghatti and gum karaya or Indian gum tragacanth. These gums, available in the market, are often adulterated by many other natural gums which may be inferior in quality. Therefore, identification of these gums is very essential to minimize the adulteration by comparing their physical and chemical properties. The study shows that among these properties, solubility, viscosity and colour can be used along with confirmatory chemical tests for differentiating commercial gums. The paper highlights the details of physical properties of the gums and chemical tests to differentiate between these gums.