The composition of two Spondias gum exudates

The polysaccharides isolated from Spondias purpurea var. lutea and Spondias cytherea contain galactose, as main component, arabinose, mannose, xylose and rhamnose residues. On the other hand, glucuronic acid and its 4-0-methy l derivative are present in those polysaccharides in contrast to the presen ce of galacturonic acid reported for other Spondias gums. S. cytherea gum h as the highest intrinsic viscosity (63 ml/g). The values of nitrogen are co mparable to those observed for some Acacia included in series Vulgares. Com parison of the specific optical rotation values and the C-13-NMR spectra of the polysaccharides from S. purpurea var. lutea and S. purpurea, may be ve ry useful to distinguish those two close botanical species. The high solubi lity of the Spondias gums studied and the absence of tannin may have potent ial industrial application therefore, it is necessary to do toxicological s tudies of those Spondias gums. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights re served.