Physicochemical, thermal and rheological properties of carboxymethyl tara gum (Caesalpinia spinosa)
Carboxymethylation, Rheological properties, Galactomannan, Seed gum
Carboxymethyl tara gum (CMTG) was synthesized from the reaction between tara gum (TG) and monochloroacetic acid (MCA) in the presence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The modification reaction was optimized in terms of MCA/NaOH ratio, reaction time and temperature thus evaluated for degree of substitution (DS). The etherification was confirmed by FTIR and 13C NMR and characterized by different analyzes. After carboxymethylation, CMTG showed new bonds at 1592, 1413 and 1320 cm-1 by FTIR and a new peak at δ = 178 ppm by 13C NMR concerning the insertion of the carbonyl group. SEM showed higher degradation on the surface of the CMTG particles and XRD indicated low crystallinity of the CMTG. Thermal analysis (TGA and DSC) revealed a lower thermal stability of carboxymethylated gum compared to unmodified gum. Despite the insertion of negative charges demonstrated by the potential-zeta, according to the rheological analyzes CMTG and TG presented pseudoplastic behavior, having CMTG presented lower viscosity at the concentrations studied.