ABSTRACT
Guar gum, a galactomannan-rich flour extracted from a leguminous seed, has received enormous attention from nutritionists, notably as a dietary supplement in the treatment of diabetes and hyperlipidemia. The guar plant is essentially a sun-loving plant, tolerant of high environmental temperatures but very susceptible to frost. To recover guar gum from the seed, it is necessary to separate the endosperm halves or splits from the hull and the cotyledon. Guar gum is produced from the seed endosperm splits. The biological properties of guar galactomannans and other such polysaccharides are dependent on their behavior in an aqueous medium. The flow properties of guar galactomannan are dependent on molecular size and shape. A number of rheological techniques can be used to describe the flow properties of guar gum in solution. Studies in pigs, a useful animal model for physiological studies of guar gum, provided the first direct evidence that guar gum decreases the rate of glucose absorption.
