Gelon gum (Gellan gum) is a viscous soluble fibre, artificially produced by non-pathogenic bacteria Sphingomonas elodea from lactose (cheese whey) or glucose (corn starch). It is an indigestible carbohydrate, a mixture of polysaccharides composed of glucose, rhamnose and glucuronic acid.

Applications:

It is initially used as a gelling agent, alternative to agar, in microbiological culture.

It is able to withstand 120 °C heat.

Needs only approximately half the amount of Gelongum as agar to reach an equivalent gel strength.

Gelon gum is also used as gelling agent in plant cell culture on Petri dishes, as it provides a very clear gel, facilitating light microscopical analyses of the cells and tissues.

Gelongum forms gels at low concentrations when hot solutions are cooled in the presence of gel promoting cations.

Gelongum was successfully used for the microencapsulation of temperature-sensitive probiotics as B.longum.

Gelation of Gelongum occurs due to chemical gelation caused by gelpromoting cations such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, which promote aggregation of the Gelon double helices to form a three dimensional network, resulting in hard and brittle gels.

Gelongum is widely used in the food industry for gelling, thickening and stabilising.

key applications sectors for Gelon are confectionery; bakery; jelly desserts; fluid gel applications; dairy; puddings and desserts and coatings.

Confectionery:

Gelon is used in confectionery products, e.g., starch jellies, pectin jellies, gummy candy, pastilles, fillings and marshmallows.

Some of the key functionalities include: (i) ability to achieve a diverse range of textures; (ii) reduced setting time to allow for faster removal from moulds; (iii) high gel strength; and (iv) sparkling clarity.

Bakery:

used in bakery as a gelling agent, typically in fillings and icings. It performs well in high starch systems and is used in particular in bake stable fillings to prevent boil out. It also performs well in high sugar systems, e.g., icings and glazes, having good shelf stability; spreadability and sheen/glossy texture.

 

The acyl substituents have an effect on the structure of Gelon gels. Gelongum containing high acyl groups forms soft and elastic gel compared to low acyl Gelongum that forms hard gel.

Product Quality specification:

Appearance	White to off white free flowingpowder
Solubility	Freely soluble in water at above 85C
Clarity (1% solution)	Clear solution
Reaction (pH of 0.2% solution)	5.5–7.5
Loss on drying	NMT 15.0%

 

Storage conditions : Store below 30°C

Shelf Life:  24 months

Pack sizes: 25 kg