Enzyme-modified guar gum/xanthan gelation: An analysis based on cascade model

The gel properties of a mixture of enzymatically-modified guar gum (EMG) and xanthan (XG) were investigated. The guar gum sample treated with α-galactosidase to remove galactose residues had a mannose/galactose ratio of 3.02, and was capable of forming a synergistic gel with xanthan. The concentration-dependent and temperature-dependent modulus data for the EMG/XG gel were analyzed by the two-component cascade model which assumed a heterotypic association between segments of EMG and XG. The optimal functionalities (number of cross-linking sites per chain), fEMG and fXG, were found to be 300 and 30, respectively. The former is equal to the number of segment size with more than six unsubstituted mannose residues in a galactomannan backbone, while the latter corresponds to a cross-link density of one per 37 repeating units in a xanthan molecule. The cascade analysis of the composition dependence of critical gelling concentration was performed by introducing the effect of the homotypic association of XG or EMG, which became significant in the gel point measurement. The enthalpy change per cross-link for the heterotypic association was found to be two times higher than that for the homotypic association.