The effect of particle size on the physical properties of Arabic gum powder

Arabic gum is derived from the exudation of stems and branches of Acacia senegal L. and it is widely used as a food additive. The application of Arabic gum as a functional food ingredient is significantly increasing. However, there is limited information on the effects of particle size on the handling and processing of Arabic gum in the industry. Therefore, a study was performed to determine the effects of particle size on the physical properties of Arabic gum powder. The physical properties measured were density, flowability, and dissolution characteristics. In this work, the powders were classified based on their mean diameter (d(50)) that ranged between 20 and 1,000 mu m. The very fine powder exhibited poor flowing properties and long dissolution time, with a Hausner ratio of 1.24 +/- 0.1 and dissolution time of 2,821.0 +/- 76.0 s. However, the coarse powder had excellent flowing properties and shorter dissolution time, with a Hausner ratio of 1.13 +/- 0.02 and dissolution time of 531.5 +/- 70.5 s. The results indicated a significant impact of particle size on the cohesivity and solubility of powder, where smaller particle size tended to decrease flowability and increase the dissolution time of the powder. Practical applications This paper studies the characterization of Arabic gum at various particle sizes. The physical properties measured were density, flowability, and dissolution of Arabic gum powder. The results of this study indicate that particle size had significantly affected the powder properties. This knowledge is very important, as Arabic gum is widely used as a food ingredient; this might affect the overall product properties. The outcomes are also beneficial to the industry prior to selecting the specific particle size for the designing and processing of products. Therefore, the results on flowability and dissolution properties of Arabic gum powder can be used as guidance for the development of food product.