New studies on gum ghatti (Anogeissuslatifolia) part 6: Physicochemical characteristics of the protein moiety of gum ghatti

Gum ghatti has been shown to possess excellent emulsification properties because of its proteinaceous components. Here we use TFA and TFMS hydrolysis to investigate the nature of this protein, and characterize it using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. The following nine peptide fragments were sequenced by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis: MLPVLEHELVPAR, LLNTLEGNEFK, LKAYGSATCLR, LAGLVVR, MTPASLSHVK, YTVRGNRNVVR, HGPVLNK, NPNALTK, and CKKEVK. The hydrophobic scores of the main peptide fragments from gum ghatti (566) were higher than those of gum arabic (241). The hydrophobic amino acid distribution in gum ghatti is similar to that in β-casein; both have hydrophobic amino acid sequences which can provide a strong oil binding capacity at the interface between the oil and water.