Viscofying properties of corn fiber gum with various polysaccharides

Authors: ZHANG, FEI - Xan Jiao Tong University; LUAN, TU - Xan Jiao Tong University; KANG, DING - Xan Jiao Tong University; ZHANG, HONGBIN - Xan Jiao Tong University; Yadav, Madhav

Submitted to: Food Hydrocolloids
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/26/2014
Publication Date: 6/5/2014
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/60407
Citation: Zhang, F., Luan, T., Kang, D., Zhang, H., Yadav, M.P. 2014. Viscofying properties of corn fiber gum with various polysaccharides. Food Hydrocolloids Journal. 43:218-227.

Interpretive Summary: The need to add value to corn milling by-products has prompted us to prepare corn fiber gum (CFG) and study its industrial application as thickener in combination with other commercial carbohydrate polymers. The by-product, “corn fiber” is obtained from corn dry milling and corn wet milling industries. It is an abundant low value material used for animal feed. The composite of CFG (prepared from corn fiber) with other carbohydrate polymers shows a superior thickening effect that individual CFG or carbohydrate polymer alone at the same concentration. Most of the processed foods contain some kind of thickener, stabilizer and gelling agent and this CFG composite has a potential to be used for these applications. The traditionally used food thickener, stabilizer and gelling agents include, but are not limited to the following: agar, alginate, gum arabic, carrageenan, carboxymethyl cellulose, gellan, guar gum, karaya, konjac, locust beam gum, methyl cellulose, hydroxymethyl cellulose, pectin, starches, tragacanth, xanthan gum etc. Viscosity is one of the most widely used properties in food application. In this respect, these CFG composites can be used in the system where oil or fat content has to be reduced or eliminated through water substitution. As CFG has a great synergistic effect on the viscosity of other polymers, its mixture with other carbohydrate polymers can increase viscosity of the food system, which in turn replaces fat or oil to give a product with similar properties to the full-fat food. Such high viscosity at low concentration will make it very interesting as a non-caloric bulking agent in food applications. It can be used as a low calorie replacement for carbohydrate additives used a thickeners, flavor carriers and suspension stabilizers in a wide variety of food products. It will be useful for producing fillings, crushes, chips, wafers, soups, gravies, pudding etc. In other cases, this product will simply add body, texture or mouth feel to the foods, such as table syrups particularly low-calorie syrups. These findings will benefit U. S. corn processors by adding value and creating additional markets for their by-products. It will also benefit U. S. manufacturers of CFG who will be able to produce a constant supply of a very superior thickener at reasonable prices. The generation and recovery of additional valuable product from corn milling by-products will also indirectly help to reduce overall cost of fuel ethanol produced from corn kernels.

Technical Abstract: The effect of corn fiber gum (CFG) on the aqueous solutions of a series of widely-used commercial polysaccharides has been studied by rheological techniques using stress synergism index to evaluate its viscosifying action. Though CFG solution exhibited Newtonian fluid behaviour with a very low viscosity even at a high concentration, the mixtures of CFG and some non-gelling polysaccharides (hyaluronan, guar gum, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, konjac glucomannan, pectin and chitosan) showed a pseudoplastic fluid behavior. Furthermore, the viscosity of the mixture of non-gelling polysaccharides with CFG was much higher than the algebraic sum of their individual viscosity, showing a viscosifying action for CFG. The viscosifying action of CFG with these non-gelling polysaccharides may be due to their interaction by hydrogen bonding. However, the viscosifying action of CFG with some gelling polysaccharides such as methylcellulose, gellan gum, carrageenan, xanthan, may be through a different mechanism. A proper model of intermolecular interaction between CFG and these gelling and non-gelling polysaccharides has been discussed and proposed.