Ghatti
Gum
ANOGEISSUS LATIFOLIS STEM GUM (GHATTI GUM)
SOURCE: Exudate from bark wound of Anogeissus latifolia tree from India
Gum Ghatti is the amorphous translucent exudate of the Anogeissus Latifolia
tree of the Combretaceae family. The tree occurs throughout the greater part
of India; more commonly in the dry deciduous forests. It is a large erect deciduous
tree, 9-15 meters (sometimes 24 m) with a smooth light colored bark. The tree
is leafless during the whole of the cold season; new leaves in April-May.
Gum Ghatti is a complex polysaccharide of high molecular weight. It occurs
in nature as a mixed calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium salt. Complete
hydrolysis has shown that it is composed of L-arabinose, D-galactose, D-mannose,
D-xylose and D-glucoronic acid in a molar ratio of 10:6:2:1:2 plus traces less
than 1% of 6-deoxyhexose.
Gum ghatti fed to animals was reported to lower cholesterol moderately.8 This
gum is also beneficial for bifidus fermentation.
Plant gums also provide the soluble fiber in a healthy diet by absorbing water
and adding bulk to the large intestine.
Fiber is simply a polymer (soluble and insoluble) from a plant, typically from
the plant cell wall. Cellulose, pectin, lignin, waxes, gums, and mucilages
are some of the many types of dietary fiber. In 1975, Burkitt and Trowell were
the first to propose a link between low dietary fiber intake with several Western
diseases. Populations that consume high-fiber diets also have a lower incidence
of numerous gastrointestinal (GI) complaints, including gallstones, constipation,
irritable bowel syndrome, diverticular disease of the colon, appendicitis,
hemorrhoids, and hiatal hernia. A review of over 200 epidemiologic studies
found that dietary fiber is among a group of fruit and vegetable-derived substances
that show particular promise in cancer prevention. Because changes in dietary
fiber consumption are associated with changes in fat, mineral and antioxidant
consumption, assumptions about the effect of the fiber component of a diet
on health must be approached with caution.
Resistant to degradation by human enzymes, soluble fiber passes virtually unaltered
through the GI tract until it reaches an abundant ecosystem of over 400 species
of bacteria in the colon capable of enzymatic fiber degradation. Known as prebiotics
because they support the bacterial flora of the gut, soluble dietary fibers
(including gums) form a gel, providing the matrix in which bacteria survive
and physiochemical interactions can occur. Eighty-five to 100% of gums
are degraded in the colon.
8. Fahrenbach MJ, Riccardi BA, Grant WC. Hypocholesterolemic activity of mucilaginous
polysaccharides in White Leghorn cockerels. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1966;123:321-326.
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