Sudanese Bean Gum Put to Beneficial Uses
02 February, 2025
PortSudan --The demand for water-soluble polysaccharides (also known as hydrocolloids) is constantly increasing because they have chemical and physical properties that make them important in many fields.
The Sudanese Bean Gum (SBG) is obtained from the seeds of a tree called Piliostigma which belongs to the Caesalpiniacea family where the endosperm layer of gummy nature is separated from the outer shell and the protein-structured embryo layer.
The endosperm layer is ground in specialized mills and thus the gummy substance is preserved until it is used in airtight containers that prevent the entry of light and moisture.
It is a perennial tree with white petaled flowers that tend to be light pink. It blooms between November and April. The flat, hairy pods turn from green to brown. The seeds inside the pod fruits are surrounded by a layer of light brown pulp. The length of the pods ranges from 12 to 19 cm.
The seeds consist of an outer shell layer that constitutes about 15-23% of the seed weight, the embryo represents 20-25% of the seed weight, and the endosperm layer (45-50%) of the seed weight.
The embryonic layer of the seed represents the protein layer that can be used for human consumption, as a new source of protein can be added that can even be used in animal feed to increase protein sources to address the protein and food shortage crisis in the world.
The main objective of the study was to devise a method to extract gum from seeds that have the strength of the shell hardness and then evaluate the biochemical, physical, rheological and functional properties of Sudanese carob gum extracted from Badour Piliostigma Thonningii for the first time.
Biochemical analysis identified the great richness of carbohydrate content 70.76 (galactomannan), 12.52% protein and 21.1 oil. The fat content recorded the lowest among the nutrient composition. On the other hand, the chemical composition - SBG plays an important role in its rheologic properties, as the study showed that the ratio of maturate/galactose in galactomannan with higher ratio/ and higher intrinsic viscosity up to 3600 p.
In SBG gum, the study showed that the viscosity, water holding capacity and foaming capacity of SBG were 23.7 and 20.56 respectively, and the emulsion stability of gum ranged from 1.2 to 1.9 OD. SBG gum samples recorded relatively high values for all elements calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and copper.
The results showed that Sudanese gum arabic contains a unique combination of chemical compounds that give it high viscosity and plant strength in different environmental conditions.
The Sudanese gum (Sudaneas bean gum) was used as an additive to some types of food from yoghurt and types of jams. The results showed that the new gum can improve the quality of foods and add nutritional value to them.
This promising type of Sudanese gum requires and intensification of scientific research efforts and study on how to benefit from it as a forest product with very distinctive chemical, physical and functional properties, high economic value, and wide geographical distribution resistant to climatic conditions.
It grows in wide ranging areas in the sudan from the far West in Kordufan and Darfur to the far east in Kassala states.
Samia Al-Obeid confirmed that Sudanese “carob gum” was used as an additive to some types of foods, such as yogurt and jams. The results showed that the new gum can improve the quality of foods and add nutritional value to them. It can also be used in the pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries.
“ There is no doubt that this promising type of Sudanese gum requires intensified scientific and research efforts and studying how to benefit from it as a forest product with very distinctive chemical, physical and functional properties,” she said, stressing that this was a product of highA Sudanese researcher extracts a new type of Sudanese gum
By: Hanan Hassan
Port Sudan-(Sudanow)- A Sudanese researcher has just made a remarkable discovery when she managed to extract carob gum from the Sudanese Carob tree, described as a promising contribution in light of the increasing demand water soluble gum materials worldwide.
Dr. Samia Al-Obeid Ajab, a Sudanese nutrition and food technology specialist and lecturer at Al-Qalam College of Science and Technology, and lecturer at Omdurman Islamic University, obtained a patent from the Sudanese Intellectual Property, against the extraction of carob gum from the Sudanese carob tree.
Scientific circles described the result of her research as a promising addition in light of the increasing global demand for water-soluble gum materials (polysaccharides) also known as hydrocolloids, which are used in many food and other industries around the globe.
Dr. Samia explains that the main objective of the study was to devise a method to extract gum from seeds that have a strong shell hardness and then evaluate the biochemical, physical, rheological and functional properties of Sudanese carob gum extracted from carob seeds for the first time, as she “began working on research and experiments since 2022, which was crowned with success this year.”
The demand for water-soluble polysaccharides (also known as hydrocolloids) is constantly increasing because they have chemical and physical properties that make them important in many fields.
The Sudanese Bean Gum (SBG) is obtained from the seeds of a tree called Piliostigma which belongs to the Caesalpiniaceous family where the endosperm layer of gummy nature is separated from the outer shell and the protein-structured embryo layer.
The researcher explains that the endosperm layer is ground in specialized mills and thus the gummy substance is preserved until it is used in airtight containers that prevent the entry of light and moisture.
It is a perennial tree with white petaled flowers that tend to be light pink. It blooms between November and April. The flat, hairy pods turn from green to brown. The seeds inside the pod fruits are surrounded by a layer of light brown pulp. The length of the pods ranges from 12 to 19 cm.
The seeds consist of an outer shell layer that constitutes about 15-23% of the seed weight; the embryo represents 20-25% of the seed weight, and the endosperm layer (45-50%) of the seed weight.
The embryonic layer of the seed represents the protein layer that can be used for human consumption, as a new source of protein can be added that can even be used in animal feed to increase protein sources to address the protein and food shortage crisis in the world.
She further added that the main objective of the study which was to devise a method to extract gum from seeds that have the strength of the shell hardness and then evaluate the biochemical, physical, rheological and functional properties of Sudanese carob gum extracted from Badour Piliostigma Thonningii for the first time, was attained.
In her study Dr Samia explained that biochemical analysis identified the great richness of carbohydrate content 70.76 (galactomannan), 12.52% protein and 21.1 oil. The fat content recorded the lowest among the nutrient composition. On the other hand, the chemical composition - SBG plays an important role in its rheologic properties, as the study showed that the ratio of maturate/galactose in galactomannan with higher ratio/ and higher intrinsic viscosity up to 3600 p.
In SBG gum, the study showed that the viscosity, water holding capacity and foaming capacity of SBG were 23.7 and 20.56 respectively, and the emulsion stability of gum ranged from 1.2 to 1.9 OD. SBG gum samples recorded relatively high values for all elements calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and copper.
The results showed that Sudanese gum Arabic contains a unique combination of chemical compounds that give it high viscosity and plant strength in different environmental conditions.
The Sudanese gum (Sudanese bean gum) was used as an additive to some types of food from yoghurt and types of jams. The results showed that the new gum can improve the quality of foods and add nutritional value to them.
Dr Samia’s promising type of Sudanese gum requires intensification of scientific research efforts and study on how to benefit from it as a forest product with very distinctive chemical, physical and functional properties, high economic value, and wide geographical distribution resistant to climatic conditions.
It grows in wide ranging areas in the Sudan from the far West in Kordufan and Darfur to the Far East in Kassala states.
Samia Al-Obeid confirmed that Sudanese “carob gum” was used as an additive to some types of foods, such as yogurt and jams. The results showed that the new gum can improve the quality of foods and add nutritional value to them. It can also be used in the pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries.
“There is no doubt that this promising type of Sudanese gum requires intensified scientific and research efforts and studying how to benefit from it as a forest product with very distinctive chemical, physical and functional properties,” she said, stressing that this was a product of high economic value, in addition to properties similar to Moroccan carob gum of the Ceratonia siliqua variety, which has a very high economic value.