XANTHAN GUM FOOD GRADE

Xanthan Gum Food Grade is a type of sugar (a Polysaccharide) produced by the fermentation of corn using a growing medium to yield the gum which is then purified, dried and ground to a fine powder. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade has some unusual properties which make is ideal for some food applications. 
When the powder is added to liquid to form a gum solution Xanthan Gum Food Grade displays pseudoplasticity (shear thinning) properites; this means the viscosity of the solution is reduced when shear forces are applied (i.e. stirring, mixing or shaking), the viscosity increases again once the shear forces are removed. 

CAS Number: 11138-66-2 
Chemical formula: C35H49O29 (monomer)
Molar mass: 933.748 g·mol−1

Synonyms: E415

Xanthan Gum Food Grade is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade can be produced from simple sugars by fermentation and derives its name from the species of bacteria used, Xanthomonas campestris.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade exhibits extraordinary and useful properties, for example high viscosity at low concentrations, little change in viscosity at varying temperatures, and excellent stability over a wide pH range. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade also provides good freeze-thaw stability and shows remarkable suspension characteristics.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used as a stabiliser, thickener, suspending agent and bodying agent in food applications such as salad dressings, sauces, instant products, desserts, bakery dairy products, and fruit juices as well as in the formation of various low-calorie foods. Cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications of xanthan gum include the use in tooth pastes, lotions, shampoos and formulations such as tablets. 

Typical industrial applications of Xanthan Gum Food Grade is the use in cleaners, paints, ceramic glazes, inks and oil drilling fluids.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is a high-molecular-weight extracellular polysaccharide widely used as a thickener, emulsifier and stabiliser in food. 
Unlike other polysaccharide gums, Xanthan Gum Food Grade is made from bacterial fermentation rather than extraction from plants. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is a cream-coloured, free-flowing powder boasting a neutral flavour taste. 
Even at low concentrations, Xanthan Gum Food Grade solutions offer a higher degree of viscosity than other polysaccharides. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade solutions are highly pseudoplastic to enhance sensory qualities (flavour release, mouthfeel) and guarantee good pouring. 
Xanthan gum also improves the freeze/thaw stability of frozen foods. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is food safe and easily dispersable - FED (other grades available).

History
Xanthan Gum Food Grade was discovered by Allene Rosalind Jeanes and her research team at the United States Department of Agriculture and brought into commercial production by CP Kelco in the early 1960s under the trade name Kelzan, remaining the only manufacturer in the US.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade was approved for use in foods in 1968 and is accepted as a safe food additive in the US, Canada, European countries, and many other countries, with E number E415 and CAS number 11138-66-2.
Xanthan gum derives its name from the species of bacteria used during the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris.

Xanthan Gum Food Grade is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer to prevent ingredients from separating. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade can be classified into two primary grades – Industrial Grade Xanthan gum (Oil & Gas) and Food Grade Xanthan gum. TCI China offers both types of Xanthan gum. 
For example, Xanthan Gum is used in salad dressings to increase the viscosity when the bottle is stationary (preventing the herbs, oil and water from mixing) then when the bottle is shook or mixed the viscosity is reduced making it easy to pour on to your salad.

Xanthan Gum Food Grade is a polysaccharide which can be mixed into drilling fluids to provide viscosity, solid suspension, and fluid-loss control. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is widely used because it is biodegradable, non-toxic, and inexpensive.
Drilling fluids are complex multi-component systems, containing many additives to perform specific functions during drilling. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade provides hydrostatic control, cools and lubricates the bit, transports cuttings to the surface and minimizes formation damage. 
A water attraction is an essential characteristic of Xanthan gum, as water is the base carrier fluid in drilling muds.

Operators use Xanthan Gum Food Grade as a thickening agent in drilling muds to increase the mud’s viscosity. 
When mixed into water, xanthan gum swells, and the mixture takes on a gel-like consistency that has proven to be an excellent carrier of drill cuttings. 
Even when the flow of drilling mud stops, the viscous mix helps keep cuttings trapped in suspension instead of allowing them to fall down the drilling pipe due to gravity.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is water-soluble, but it’s not oil-soluble. 
That means when Xanthan Gum Food Grade’s mixed with a petroleum distillate; Xanthan gum doesn’t dissolve – it disperses. 
Trucks transport the pre-mixed dispersion to the well site in drums, totes, and pails, and massive pumps pump Xanthan Gum Food Grade to the wellhead, where it mixes with water and other additives before being sent down the wellbore.

Uses
The addition of 1% xanthan gum can produce a significant increase in the viscosity of a liquid.
In foods, Xanthan Gum Food Grade is a common ingredient in salad dressings and sauces. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade helps to prevent oil separation by stabilizing the emulsion, although it is not an emulsifier. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade also helps suspend solid particles, such as spices, and it helps create the desired texture in many ice creams. 
Toothpaste often contains Xanthan Gum Food Grade as a binder to keep the product uniform. Xanthan gum also helps thicken commercial egg substitutes made from egg whites by replacing the fat and emulsifiers found in yolks. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is also a preferred method of thickening liquids for those with swallowing disorders, since it does not change the color or flavor of foods or beverages at typical use levels.
In gluten-free baking, Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used to give the dough or batter the stickiness that would otherwise be achieved with gluten. 
In most foods, Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used at concentrations of 0.5% or less. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used in a wide range of food products, such as sauces, dressings, meat and poultry products, bakery products, confectionery products, beverages, dairy products, and others.

In the oil industry, Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used in large quantities to thicken drilling mud.
These fluids carry the solids cut by the drilling bit to the surface. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade provides improved "low end" rheology. 
When circulation stops, the solids remain suspended in the drilling fluid. 
The widespread use of horizontal drilling and the demand for good control of drilled solids has led to its expanded use. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade has been added to concrete poured underwater in order to increase its viscosity and prevent washout.

In cosmetics, Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used to prepare water gels.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is also used in oil-in-water emulsions to enhance droplet coalescence.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is under preliminary research for its potential uses in tissue engineering to construct hydrogels and scaffolds supporting three-dimensional tissue formation.
Furthermore, thiolated Xanthan Gum Food Grade has shown potential for drug delivery, since by the covalent attachment of thiol groups to this polysaccharide, high mucoadhesive and permeation enhancing properties can be introduced.

Food
Xanthan Gum Food Grade can be used for cake making, producing gluten free food, bread making, ice-cream making and a gluten free thickener.

Oil Industry
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used in the Oil Industry where its used in large quantities, usually to thicken drilling mud. 
These fluids serve to carry the solids cut by the drilling bit back to the surface.

Cosmetics
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is used in cosmetics to prepare water gels, usually in conjunction with bentonite clays. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is also used in oil-in-water emulsions to help stabilise the oil droplets against coalescence. 
Xanthan Gum Food Grade has some skin hydrating properties.

Preparation
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is produced by the fermentation of glucose and sucrose.
The medium is well-aerated and stirred, and the xanthan polymer is produced extracellularly into the medium.
After one to four days, the polymer is precipitated from the medium by the addition of isopropyl alcohol, and the precipitate is dried and milled to give a powder that is readily soluble in water or brine.
Xanthan Gum Food Grade is composed of pentasaccharide repeat units, comprising glucose, mannose, and glucuronic acid in the molar ratio 2:2:1.
A strain of X. campestris that will grow on lactose has been developed, which allows it to be used to process whey, a waste product of cheese production. 
This can produce 30 g/L of xanthan gum for every 40 g/L of whey powder.
Whey-derived Xanthan Gum Food Grade is commonly used in many commercial products, such as shampoos and salad dressings.