Rheological properties of lesquerella gum fractions recovered by aqueous extraction

Lesquerella fendleri seeds contain a cross-linked carbohydrate gum with vis coelastic properties that may be used for industrial and edible application s. Laboratory studies compared the rheological behavior of gum isolates obt ained from whole seed, defatted hull, and defatted meal fractions. Gum yiel ds and rheological properties were determined for gum isolates from each of these fractions. All gum isolates exhibited positive hysteresis, which pro vided evidence of structure formation in 1% solutions. Values of storage an d loss modulus were reported from oscillatory experiments over an angular f requency range of 0.1 to 100 rad/s using a controlled-stress rheometer. Who le seed meal appears to be the most cost-effective fraction from which to r ecover gums. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.