Carbohydrate Polymers 87 (2012) 980–986 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Carbohydrate Polymers j ourna l ho me pag e: www.elsevier.com/locate/carbpol Review Gum ghatti: A promising polysaccharide for pharmaceutical applications Anand S. Deshmukh a,∗ , C. Mallikarjuna Setty b , Aravind M. Badiger c , K.S. Muralikrishna a a Department of Pharmaceutical Research, Shree Dhanvantary Pharmacy College, Kim, Kudsad Road, Surat, Gujarat 394110, India b Department of Pharmaceutics, Saraswathi College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yethbarpally, Andhra Pradesh, India c Shree Dhanvantary Pharmaceutical Analysis and Research Center, Kim, Surat, Gujarat 394110, India a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 6 April 2011 Accepted 31 August 2011 Available online 14 September 2011 Keywords: Gum ghatti Hydrogels Gatifolia a b s t r a c t Gum ghatti (Anogeissus latifolia) or Indian gum is a complex non-starch polysaccharide. It has been widely employed in food, pharmaceuticals, paper and other industries primarily due to its excellent emulsifi- cation and thickening property. Other applications of gum ghatti are inadequately investigated owing to lack of information on it. Researchers in the recent years have shown a great interest in exploring its molecular structure and functional properties. This article is aimed at discussing the structural features, functional properties and applications of gum ghatti with an emphasis on its pharmaceutical potential. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 980 2. Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981 3. Functional properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981 4. Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984 4.1. Emulsifying agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984 4.2. Excipient in solid dosage form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984 4.3. Hydrogels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984 4.4. Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985 5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986 Conflict of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986 1. Introduction The polysaccharide gums represent one of the most abundant industrial raw materials and have been the subject of intensive research over comparable synthetic materials due to their sustain- ability, biodegradability and safety (Rana et al., 2011). Gum ghatti Abbreviations: GRAS, generally recognized as safe; 13 C NMR, carbon 13 nuclear magnetic resonance; 2D NMR, two-dimensional nuclear magnetic res- onance; COSY, correlation spectroscopy; TOCSY, total correlation spectroscopy; HMQC, heteronuclear multiple-quantum correlation; HMBC, heteronuclear multi- ple bond correlation; FS, soluble fraction; cP, centipoises; HPSEC, high-performance size exclusion chromatography; MALLS, multi-angle laser light scattering; Ps , percentage swelling; ABC, potassium persulphate-ascorbic acid; MBA, methylene- bis-acrylamide. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9726609206; fax: +91 2621231077. E-mail address: anand4ds@rediffmail.com (A.S. Deshmukh). or Indian gum is a non-starch polysaccharides, originates from India and the main species is Anogeissus latifolia (Combretaceae, Myrtales), a large deciduous tree found in dry areas (Glicksman, 1983; Meer, 1980; Meer, Meer & Gerard, 1973). It is a plant exu- date, that has been long in use and whose name is derived from the word Ghat, which means a mountain pass, given to the gum possibly because of its ancient mountain transportation routes (http://www.megamic.com/gumghatti.html, 2010). Gum exudes naturally, darkened often by non-carbohydrate contaminants, and the dried product is sifted and ground in the usual manner. In the past, its quality and supply could not be guar- anteed; hence it has not been established as a major tree gum in food products (Amar et al., 2006). Regulatory status in USA as “Gen- erally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) since 1976 was based on tests for toxicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity, but the European Union subsequently demanded more detailed evaluation of the safety of these gums as food additives, and lack of the required information 0144-8617/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2011.08.099