CAS 9000-65-1: Gum tragacanth

Gum tragacanth is an exudate gum from species of Astragalus trees mainly grown in Iran and Turkey. Tragacanth finds applications as an effective emulsifying and thickening agent in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The gum is a slightly acidic salt consisting of two fractions namely the water soluble tragacanthin and the fraction bassorin which swells in water to form a gel. Water soluble tragacanthin is reported as a branched arabiogalactan which is soluble in 70% ethanol. The acidic bassorin has a chain of (1,4)-linked a-D-galacturonic acid units some of which are substituted at O-3 with β-D-xylopyranosyl units and some of these being terminated with galactose or fucose.

Tragacanth Gum

Tragacanth powder is used as an emulsifier, thickener, stabilizer in food and pharmaceutical industry. It acts as a binder used in the preparation of artist's pastels. It is used as a natural hair shampoo. It plays an important role as freezing-embedding medium for tissue preservation. It is used as a demulcent in cough and cold preparations as well as to manage diarrhea. This Thermo Scientific Chemicals brand product was originally part of the Alfa Aesar product portfolio. Some documentation and label information may refer to the legacy brand. The original Alfa Aesar product / item code or SKU reference has not changed as a part of the brand transition to Thermo Scientific Chemicals.