ABSTRACT
Commercial food processing is becoming more sophisticated in response to growing consumer demands for processed foods, of both animal and vegetable origin, as a result of increasing globalization and changes in lifestyles of the general public all over the world. Among the diverse food processing sectors, the eld of fabricated foods is witnessing considerable ingenuity and creativity, as well as rapid growth. In developing such foods, the use of hydrocolloids is crucial to impart specic sensory properties. Hydrocolloids are used as thickeners, emulsiers, syneresis inhibitors, gel and lm matrices, and water retention and texture enhancers.1-3 Polysaccharides are the major hydrocolloids invariably used for these applications. They are also referred to as gums, in view of their ability to thicken and bind various components in a food product. Currently, the food industry uses polysaccharides such as agar, alginates, gum arabic, carrageenan, konjac our, locust bean gum, methyl cellulose and hydroxylpropylmethylcellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, xanthan, curdlan, gellan, pullulan, dextran, and pectin. These compounds are isolated from plant and microbial sources. The rising demand for processed foods has created a need for novel food hydrocolloids with interesting functional properties.
