Guar

Guar or guar gum is obtained from the guar bean. It is used as a filler, thickener and gelling agent in dietary products due to its strong swelling properties.

Guar is approved as a food additive in the European Union under the number E 412.

The beans of the guar plant are processed into guar flour. The flour consists of 80 - 85 % guar, a polysaccharide (galactomannan), which consists of mannose and galactose, which are glycosidically bound together in a ratio of 2:1.

The guar flour is characterized by a high viscosity and swellability. It is hardly absorbed in the intestine.

Food additive (E 412). Guar gum is used as a thickener and filler in foodstuffs. It is used in bakery products, soups and sauces, jams, marmalades, jellies, canned fruit and vegetables, ice cream and deserts.

In India guar has a folk-medicinal meaning (laxative effect, used as a mucus drug for biliary complaints).

Industrially, guar flour can be used to produce adhesives; it also improves the tear resistance and colour quality of paper. Guar flour is used in the production of various types of paper. It is used in the manufacture of various dyes.

Cosmetics: Guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, a water soluble quaternary ammonium compound is widely used in cosmetics (Gao T 2007, see also hair shampoo).