Plant gum exudates (Karau) and mucilages, their biological sources, properties, uses and potential applications: A review

Abstract

This paper or review discusses the natural plant exudates and mucilages, their sources, properties and uses and the potential applications. Research in natural polymeric materials has witness growing interest and attention. This is attributable to a number of factors which include their relative abundance, low cost,  biodegradable nontoxic, and ecofriendly profile.They are polymers that are mostly plant in origin with a vast applications.Polysaccharides hydrocolloids including gum and mucilage are abundant in nature and commonly found in many higher plants. These polysaccharides constitute a structurally diverse class of biological  macromolecules with a broad range of physicochemical properties which are widely used for various applications in pharmacy, medicine, food and other non- food applications. In recent years those polymers derived from plants have evoke tremendous interest because of their industrial applications as diluent binders, thickening agents, smoothening, emulsifiers, gelling agents and stabilizers. This increasing research in this group of these plant materials are clear indications of their increasing importance.The fact for increase in importance of natural plant based materials is that plant resources are renewable and if cultivated or harvested in a sustainable manner, they can provide a constant supply of raw materials. To that effect, more understanding of their nature, physicochemical properties, sources, uses be gained so that can be used for wider applications.

Key words:, Polymer,GumExudate, Mucilage, Biological sources, Potential application