What is Gellan Gum, How is it used? Benefits and Harm

Gellan gum, gellan gum or gellan gumIs a food additive discovered in the 1970s.

Firstly gelatine and agar has been used as a substitute for agar, currently found in a variety of processed foods, including jam, sugar, meat, and fortified plant milks.

Gellan gumSince its discovery more than three decades ago, it has become a common additive in the food, beverage, personal care, industrial cleaners and papermaking markets, especially in the last 15 years. Gellan gumSome of its primary functions and uses are:

– Helping to create a gel-like consistency within substances.

– To help prevent settling or separation in food and industrial products.

– To texturize, stabilize or bind food ingredients in a uniform manner.

– Aiding flexibility, configuration and suspension.

– To prevent the components from changing form due to temperature changes.

– Providing gel base for cellular experiments performed in Petri dishes

– Alternatively, gelatin is used in vegetarian food products.

– Used to provide a smooth feel in cosmetics and beauty products.

– It is used in gastronomy dishes (especially in desserts) to prevent the materials from melting.

– And it has a variety of other uses, including creating movies.

What is Gellan Gum? 

Gellan gumis a food additive used to bind and stabilize processed foods. Guar gum, carrageenan, agar agar and xanthan gum It is similar to other gelling agents, including

It grows naturally, but can also be produced artificially by fermenting sugar with a specific strain of bacteria.

It replaces other popular gelling agents because it is effective in very small amounts and produces a clear gel that is not heat sensitive.

Gellan gum It is also a plant-based alternative to gelatin derived from animal skin, cartilage or bone.

How to Use Gellan Gum?

Gellan gumhas a variety of uses. As a gelling agent, it gives a creamy texture to desserts, gives baked goods a jelly-like consistency.

Gellan gum It is also added to fortified juices and herbal milks to stabilize complementary nutrients such as calcium and mix them into the drink rather than gather at the bottom of the bowl

This additive has medical and pharmaceutical applications for tissue regeneration, allergy relief, dental care, bone repair, and drug manufacturing.

Can be used for texturing and stabilization in food preparation

Gellan gumThe most common use is when cooking, preparing desserts or baking, either alone or mixed with other products/stabilizers to prevent the ingredients from separating.

It is very useful for adding a consistency to purees or gels, especially since it does not change the color or taste of foods. In addition, it does not turn into liquid even when heated, it preserves its structure.

Gellan gumThanks to its ability to increase viscosity, it can produce a wide variety of interesting liquid textures, including thicker liquids, marinades, sauces or vegetable purees.

Suitable for vegan/vegetarian recipes

Because it is produced from bacterial fermentation and not from any animal source, gellan gumIt is a common additive in vegan diet foods. Vegan recipes often need some sort of stabilizer and thickener to prevent the products from separating.

Helps prevent desserts from melting and is very heat stable

Gellan gumAn interesting use for food preparation is in gastronomy, especially to create special desserts. Chefs sometimes refer to ice cream and sorbet recipes to aid in agitation. gellan gum adds.

May help improve digestion, constipation or diarrhea

Conducted by researchers from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh and held at a high level for 23 days gellan gum One small study that tested the effects of dietary ingestion showed that it acts as a faecal bulking agent with effects on diet transition time. 

As a bulking agent gellan gum consuming it was found to increase transit time in about half of the volunteers and decrease the transmission time in the other half.

Fecal bile acid concentrations also increased, but gellan gumhad no significant effect on factors such as blood sugar, insulin concentrations, or HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

In general, work gellan gum consuming it does not cause adverse physiological effects, but because it collects feces. constipation or a diarrhea found to have positive effects on symptoms such as 

in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitamintology Findings from another published animal study show the same thing. Gellan gum typically shortens gastrointestinal transit time, resulting in better elimination in people prone to digestive issues such as constipation.

In What Foods Is Gellan Gum Found?

Gellan gumCan be found in a variety of foods:

Drinks

Plant-based milk and fruit juices, chocolate milk and some alcoholic beverages

Confectionery

Candy, marshmallows and chewing gum

Milk

Fermented milk, cream, yoghurt, processed cheese and unripe cheeses 

Fruit and vegetable products

Fruit purees, marmalades, jams, jellies and some dried fruits and vegetables

Packaged foods

Some noodles, bread, and gluten-free or low-protein pastas, as well as breakfast cereals 

Sauces

Salad dressings, ketchup, mustard, pudding and sandwich varieties 

Other foods

Some processed meats, fish roe, soups, broths, condiments, powdered sugar and syrups 

Gellan gumIt is especially popular in vegan packaged foods because it is a plant-based alternative to gelatin. on food labels gellan gum or a E418 listed as.

Gellan Gum Nutritional Value

Technically gellan gumby certain types of bacterial fermentation, especially Sphingomonas elodea a species produced using a culture called  is an exopolysaccharide.

Used in different industrial and food production applications gellan gumIt is created in a laboratory by commercial fermentation on a much larger scale.

As a polysaccharide gellan gumis a long chain of carbohydrate-based molecules. Chemically, this makes it similar to other food products used to bind ingredients together, including flour or starch. 

One of the reasons this additive has gained a reputation in food production is that it is used only in small quantities and can withstand higher temperatures while maintaining a consistent viscosity compared to other thickeners. 

What Are the Benefits of Gellan Gum?

Gellan gumWhile it is said to have a variety of benefits, few of them are backed by strong scientific evidence.

For example, some evidence, gellan gumIt helps food move smoothly through the intestines, thereby alleviating constipation. However, this study was conducted a long time ago and is small in scope.

In addition, it is stated that this additive reduces blood sugar and cholesterol levels, helps to lose weight by providing appetite control. However, no important studies have been conducted to support these claims. Therefore, more research is needed.

What Are the Harms of Gellan Gum?

Gellan gumis generally considered safe. An animal study, at high doses gellan gum While associating its intake with abnormalities in the gut lining, other studies have found no harmful effects.

However, this substance should be consumed in a limited way, as it may slow digestion in some people. 

As a result;

Gellan gumIt is a food additive that is also occasionally used in industrial settings or in cosmetic products.

It is made of bacterial fermentation and helps bind, texture and stabilize ingredients, preventing them from separating and forming a gel texture or creamy appearance.

Sphingomonas elodea A type of bacteria called gum forms this gum. It has not been found to be toxic even when consumed in large quantities, but it is recommended to use very small amounts only in moderation.