The hydrocolloids or gums are natural polymers that form aqueous dispersions or gels when dispersed in water. They form bonds with water molecules due to the numerous hydroxyl groups they possess. Due to their functional properties, hydrocolloids are very useful in the food industry.
They are used as thickening, gelling, emulsifying and stabilizing agents, as coatings (food films), and they have other applications as well. Food industry uses gellan mainly due to its property to modify food viscosity and texture. An increasing incidence of obesity and chronic diseases has been remarked in recent years.
This is caused by unhealthy lifestyles and diets low in nutrients and rich in fat foods, which can affect health. Alternative therapies and functional foods are important for the prevention and treatment of these diseases.
Numerous products based on hydrocolloids have been developed to replace fat foods.70 Gellan is one of the latest hydrocolloids added to the list of permitted food additives in 1988 approved by Japan, and later by the USA (1990) and Europe (1995).
Gellan is branded and sold both in deacetylated and acetylated form. Each forms gels with different structures and properties.
Gellan is widely used in different industries, such as pharmacy, food, and biomedicine.
In the food industry, due to its functional properties, gellan is frequently used as a polymer to obtain liquid gels, food films, jelly desserts, jams, and as a polymer system to encapsulate many bioactive components.This polysaccharide can be used not only as thickening, gelling, emulsifying, stabilizing and food film formation agent, but also to replace undesired ingredients, especially fat, obtaining low calorie foods, or satiety increasing products.
It can be used as a biopolymer support to encapsulate various bioactive compounds, to protect them and to ensure controlled release and also to obtain functional foods with various benefits in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. As a substitute for gelatin, gellan ensures the structure, texture and flavor in many foods better than gelatin. It is used in pastry and it replaces successfully jellies made of starch. It has lower gelling time and confers an optimal structure and texture to these products.
Gellan gels prevent loss of moisture in sweet foods, and confer greater clarity to gelatin desserts. The melting temperature of a gellan gel can be increased, thus keeping foods soft and juicy. Because gellan is a water-binding agent, it is used to increase stability in foods based on modified starch. It removes the starch effect on food flavor; gives shape and structure after heating-cooling processes applied to many foods (from meat, fruit, and confectionery).
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