Cassia gum is primarily the ground purified endosperm of the seeds of C. tora and C. obtusifolia, (Fam. Leguminosae) containing less than 0.1% of C. occidentalis. The seeds are dehusked and de-germed by thermal mechanical treatment followed by milling and screening of the endosperm. The ground endosperm is further purified by extraction with isopropanol.
Cassia gum is pale yellow to off-white, odorless free-flowing powder. It forms colloidal solutions in cold water.
Cassia gum is related to carob bean gum, tara gum and guar gum in terms of structure and chemical properties. Semi-refined Cassia gum normally containing detectable amounts of anthraquinones has been accepted for use in pet food by several countries.
The intended use of Cassia gum is as thickener, emulsifier, foam stabilizer, moisture retention agent and/or texturizing agent in cheese, frozen dairy desserts and mixes, meat products and poultry products.
Cassia gum is comprised of at least 75% high molecular weight (approximately 200,000-300,000) polysaccharide consisting primarily of a linear chain of 1,4-β-D-mannopyranose units with 1,6 linked αD-galactopyranose units. The ratio of mannose to galactose is about 5:1. The composition of saccharides is: mannose (77.2-78.9 %), galactose (15.7-14.7 %) and glucose (7.1-6.3 %). Like most polysaccharides, the following formula applies: (C6H10O5)n.HO.
Cassia Gum has mainly two grades being widely used across the world and is highly demanded. One is Cassia Gum E427 (Food Grade) has application in food additives and the other is Cassia Gum E499 (Feed Grade) which is used as a pet food.
Cassia Gum Food Grade E427 is used in various products like mixes, cheese, frozen dairy products, ice-creams, Jelly Type Deserts (water gel), meat products and poultry products in the form of different agents like thickeners, moisture retention agents, foam stabilizers, emulsifiers and texturizing agents.
The refined cassia gum powder is also been used in salads, appetizers as well as sandwich ingredients are also been prepared. It also used in preparing air fresheners in the form of gels.
Cassia Gum 1f499 is approved for use in Europe as an additive in Animal feed nutrition through regulatory commission (EU) 2019/1947.
Our Cassia Gum PetFood Grade E499 is used as a food for pets substituting locust bean gum or carob gum outside Europe. It is used with the combination of Kapa Carrageenan as wet canned pet food.
Gelling and Texturizing of Pet Foods (Dogs and Cats) – Wet and Semi Wet Formulations. It forms thermoplastic gels with kappa carrageenan and also forms viscoelastic gel with xanthan gum.
According to the European food safety authority (EFSA) the cassia gum is used in combination with other gelling agents such as the kappa- carrageenan or the Xanthan gum during manufacture of the pet foods.