Rheological and kinetic study of the ultrasonic degradation of locust bean gum in aqueous saline and salt-free solutions

Abstract

The ultrasonic degradation of locust bean gum (LBG) in aqueous solutions has been studied at 25°C for ultrasonication times up to 120 min. Although LBG is not a polyelectrolyte, the degradation extent and kinetics were found to be somewhat sensitive to the ionic conditions in solution, and this is attributed to changes in molecular conformation that can occur in different salt environments. Ultrasonic degradation was tracked by rheological measurements that lead to the determination of intrinsic viscosity for the LBG molecules. A kinetic model was also developed and successfully applied to characterize and predict the degradation results.

Ultrasonic Degradation of Konjac Glucomannan and the Effect of Freezing Combined with Alkali Treatment on Their Rheological Profiles

“…After sonication, since the molecular chains became shorter, the influence of molecular interaction on intrinsic viscosity became limited and less important. Such phenomenon was also observed in xanthan gum [21], locust bean gum [22] and polysaccharides from Porphyra yezoensis [23].…”

Investigation of a polyelectrolyte degradation with viscometry

“…They showed that when NaCl was used, the degradation was more effective compared to the Na 2 SO 4 usage. 29 In another study of Li and Feke, it was concluded that an addition of NaCl to the solution was more effective than Na 2 SO 4 during the ultrasonic xanthan degradation. They reported that xanthan exhibited a more compacted form in the Na 2 SO 4 solution.…”