Gum Ghatti
A brief description
Geographical and botanical origin
Gum Ghatti is the gum of the tree species Anogeissus Latifolia. These trees are endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The word “Ghati” designates a mountain valley in the Hindi Language. The term “ghat” is used in different Indian languages to describe mountain passes which are difficult to access. Hence, Gum Ghatti can somewhat be translated to “Gum from the mountains”.
Harvest and Processing
Anogeissus Latifolia grows GMO and pesticide free in the wilderness and is used for a multitude of purposes by the local populace. The harvest of Gum Ghatti is a little different from other gum varieties: the trees exude Ghatti gum on their own, either trough naturally occurring wounds in the bark or when the temperature is very hot. Due to this, tapping, human-made cuts in the trees, is not necessary in the harvest of Gum Ghatti.
First processing steps include the cleaning and sorting of the gum. After that, the gum can be further processed into a whitish powder. This powder offers a higher degree of purity and an easier integration into the production process of the final industrial user.
Sensory and phytochemical composition
The raw material Gum Ghatti consists of small, whitish to dark red, odorless resin lumps. As a natural polysaccharide, Ghatt Gum has a complex sugar structure mainly composed of L-Arabinose, D-Galactose, D-Glucuronic Acid and D-Mannose. Gum Ghatti has a very high content of water soluble fiber.
Traditional and industrial applications
Gum Ghatti is traditionally used in India for its therapeutical properties and as food. Due to the high content of water soluble fiber, Gum Ghatti is ingested in the case of gut problems.
In the European Union, Gum Ghatti is not approved as food additive and thus has no European Food Safety E Number. The US-American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has defined Gum Ghatti as a food additive under Code 184.1333 as emulsifier. The raw material is also approved as food additive in many other countries outside of the European Union.
Gum Ghatti is used in the food industry as a source of water soluble fiber. The stabilizing properties of Gum Ghatti are used for emulsions and suspension in beverages, sweets and flavors.
Further applications include the production of waxes, colors and inks and uses in the paper and cosmetic industries.
Willy Benecke and Gum Ghatti
Willy Benecke has a long standing history as supplier of the raw material Gum Ghatti. We purchase our gum from different suppliers, to ensure that the demands of our customers are met, to ensure highest quality at all times and to guarantee short delivery times.
Willy Benecke is supplier of Gum Ghatti as raw lumps or as ready-to-use powder.
We offer Gum Ghatti for the following industrial applications:
- As emulsifying agent in the food industry
- As stabilizing agent in the food industry
