DEFINITION

Locust Bean Gum is the flour obtained by grinding the endosperms of seeds of the carob tree Ceratonia siliqua L. (Fam. Fabaceae, also known as Leguminosae). It consists chiefly of high molecular weight hydrocolloidal polysaccharides having a molecular weight range of 50,000 to 3,000,000. The chemical structure consists of a polymeric mannose chain branched with galactose units. The main chain consists of (1–4)-linked β-d-mannose, and the side chain consists of (1–6)-linked α-d-galactose. The galactomannan content in this material is NLT 70.0% and NMT 90.0% and the ratio of mannose to galactose is in the range of 3.4:1 to 4.2:1.