Guar (Cyamopsis Tetragonaloba L.) is a native plant of India and can now be found in Pakistan, USA, Africa and Australia.

In India, Guar is considered a potential source of unconventional livestock feed.

Guar fibre is a portion of endosperm of Cyamoposis tetragonolobus L. natural non-ionic film-forming biopolymer

It appears in form of yellowish or whitepowder

Let's look at Guar's other applications.

What it is used for and where

Food

Guar Gum has been used by the food industry as a thickener, stabilizer in emulsions due to its excellent dough properties. ‘Thickeners’ are substances which increase the viscosity of a foodstuff. It is listed as E412 on the European food additives list.

Medical

Many interesting properties, including antioxidant activity, hypocholesterolemic and prebiotic activity have been attributed by the scientific literature to this compound.

In particular, hepatoprotective activity (1) and drug release have been studied (2).

At high concentrations it can cause flatulence and swelling due to the fermentation of intestinal flora.

Cosmetics

Binder agent. A binding compound that is used in cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products as an anti-caking agent with the function of making the product in which it is incorporated silky, compact and homogenous. The binder, either natural such as mucilage, gums and starches or chemical, may be in the form of a powder or liquid.

Emulsion stabilizer. Emulsions are thermodynamically unstable. Emulsion stabilisers improve the formation and stability of single and double emulsions. It should be noted that in the structure-function relationship, molar mass plays an important role.

Fragrance. It plays a very important role in the formulation of cosmetic products as it allows perfume to be enhanced, masked or added to the final product, improving its commercial viability.  The consumer always expects to find a pleasant scent in a cosmetic product.

Viscosity Enhancing Agent - aqueous. Since viscosity is important for increasing the chemical and physical stability of the product, Viscosity Enhancing Agent acqueous is an important dosage factor in gels, suspensions, emulsions, solutions. Increasing viscosity makes formulations less sedimentary and more homogeneously thickened.

Guar gum studies

Molecular Formula: C₁₀H₁₄N₅Na₂O₁₂P₃

Molecular Weight: 535.146 g/mol

UNII: e89i1637ke

CAS: 9000-30-0

EC Number: 232-536-0  232-536-8

FEMA Number: 2537

MDL number MFCD00131250

Synonyms:

• ((2R,3S,5R)-5-(6-amino-9H-purin-9-yl)-3-hydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl dihydrogentriphosphate
• 2-hydroxy-3-(trimethylammonio)propyl ether, chloride
• E412

References___________________________________________________________________

(1)  Wu C, Liu J, Tang Y, Li Y, Yan Q, Jiang Z.  Hepatoprotective Potential of Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum against Acute Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury in Vitro and Vivo. Nutrients. 2019 Apr 27;11(5). pii: E963. doi: 10.3390/nu11050963.

(2) Kumar B, Murali A, Bharath AB, Giri S.  Guar gum modified upconversion nanocomposites for colorectal cancer treatment through enzyme-responsive drug release and NIR-triggered photodynamic therapy.  Nanotechnology. 2019 Mar 20;30(31):315102. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab116e.