Information On Cassia Gum, Natural Polymer, Food Additive, Cassia Tora, Cassia Obtusifolia, Cassia Tora, Cassia For Pet Foods, Cassia For Freshener, Cassia For Food Additive, Cassia For Medicinal Uses, Cassia Seeds.

Cassia Gum Manufacturing Process | Method of Manufacturing Cassia Gum | Splitting the C. Tora and C. Obtusifolia Seeds
Processing the Splits | About Cassia Gum | Cassia Gum Applications

Cassia Gum Manufacturing Process

Cassia Gum is obtained from the seeds of Cassia Obtusifolia which are also known as cassia seeds. The Cassia seed is broken to get 2 halves known as Cassia splits. Dehusking of the splits is achieved through heating, grinding, polishing and sieving. The endosperm is separated from the germ through sieving and is then pulverized to make a pale yellow powder according to specifications which is known as cassia gum powder. Cassia gum mainly consists of mannose and galactose units and is soluble in hot water. The cassia gum powder acts as a thickening agent and forms gels with carageenan and xanthan.

Method of Manufacturing Cassia Gum

The raw material, a mixture of seeds from C. Tora and C. obtusifolia is subject to different mechanical cleaning steps in order to reduce contents of C. occidentalis to no more than 0.05% and to remove other impurities, such as farm waste, undeveloped seeds and stones. Following the cleaning step the raw material is subject to a de-husking and splitting process i.e. a thermal and mechanical treatment removing husk and germ from the seeds resulting in splits. Finally the splits are ground to a uniform small particle size powder, extracted with isopropanol and dried. C. tora and C. obtusifolia are harvested when the plants are ripe in the months of November to January in India. The seeds that are used in the production of cassia gum are generally picked up randomly so, these seeds are often contaminated with seeds from C. occidentalis. Before starting the seed splitting process, the seeds are passed through grading machines to differentiate them on the basis of their size. By this step, underdeveloped seeds are removed and C. occidentalis seeds are reduced to no more than 0.05%. Before splitting the seeds, they are subject to several different mechanical cleaning steps to remove impurities and seeds other than C. tora and C. obtusifolia. The seeds are also passed though grading machines to differentiate them on the basis of their size, before starting the splitting process of the seeds. Due to this process, underdeveloped seeds are removed and C.occidentalis seeds are reduced to no more than 0.05%. A sample of each fraction is sent to the laboratory for inspection for the presence of C. occidentalis.

Splitting the C. Tora and C. Obtusifolia Seeds

The seed consists of an outer husk, an endosperm and the ovary or germ. Only the endosperm or split, which contains mainly polysaccharides, is used for the production of the cassia gum. Both husk and germ are removed in the de-husking and splitting process. The impact of the splitting procedure is that both husk and germ are loosened from the endosperm and made brittle by heating and can be removed in the subsequent purification procedure after pulverization. The split, however, remains intact at these temperatures. Due to its much greater particle size, the split can be separated from husk and germ particles through a couple of physical cleaning steps. The production of cassia splits follows the well-known production procedure of the related guar gum splits which involves both roasting and mechanical processing.

The splitting procedure starts with roasting of the seeds. All seeds are heated for several minutes. During the roasting process the endosperm (split) remains intact and flexible, while husk and germ, which are more sensitive to heat, become brittle. Mechanical stress pulverizes husk and germ and the powder is separated from the intact split by sieving. Remaining traces of husk and germ on the split particles are finally removed through a series of physical cleaning steps. A composite sample is examined to ensure the material meets the specifications for splits intended for use in the production of refined Cassia gum. During the manufacturing process, care is to be taken that the content of material other than C. tora and C. obtusifolia has to be zero. The concentration of anthraquinones in the seed originally is approximately 10,000 mg/kg. After splitting, polishing and brushing, the concentration of anthraquinones in the split can be reduced to below 250 mg/kg measured by a UV test method. This means the splitting-dehusking-degerming step removes the majority of the anthraquinones. By mechanical means the anthraquinone content cannot be further reduced in the splits.

Processing the Splits

The reduction of the anthraquinone content from 250 mg/kg to below the level of detection of the HPLC analytical method (< 0.5 mg/kg) is done by a specially adapted extraction process with isopropanol. Finally, the extraction step allows refined cassia gum, intended for use in food, to achieve lower impurity levels and reduces the residual anthraquinones to less than the limit of 0.5 mg/kg.

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Cassia Gum Manufacturing Process | Method of Manufacturing Cassia Gum | Splitting the C. Tora and C. Obtusifolia Seeds
Processing the Splits | About Cassia Gum | Cassia Gum Applications

Information on Cassia Gum, a Natural Polymer Also Known As Senna Obtusifolia or Cassia Tora Used For Pet Foods, Freshener, Food Additive and Medicinal Uses, Cassia Gum Is Obtained From Cassia Obtusifolia Also Known As Cassia Seeds.