The use of seed gums has brought a lot of benefits to the food industry, improving their properties primarily for their ability of thickening, stabilising and gelling. The gums obtained from the endosperm of legume seeds are composed of mannose and galactose in different proportions. Using a procedure of grinding and milling, an extract rich in galactomannan (83.2%), with a mannose:galactose ratio of 2.7, was obtained from faveiro (Dimorphandra mollis), which is a Brazilian species native to the savannah and caatinga environments. The yield and composition obtained were comparable to the commercially exploited gums of guar (yield=78-82% and ratio=2) and carob (yield=88% and ratio=4). Biological assays showed that the gum from faveiro is practically atoxic. These results suggest that the gum from Dimorphandra mollis has a potential for industrial applications in the food industry. As this species is already used in Brazil for extraction of phenolic compounds and as it is of large occurrence in the savannah and caatinga ecosystems, its exploitation might be performed in a sustainable fashion with low environmental impact.
polysaccharide; galactomannan; gum; faveiro; Dimorphandra; seeds
