Observation of Tamarind Gum Solubility in Aqueous Solution from Turbidity Measurement Technique

Tamarind gum obtains from the endosperm of tamarind seed. Polysaccharide is the main component as about 78.85%. It consists of three types of monosaccharide as glucose, xylose and galactose. Since it is a hydrocolloid that give viscous solution in aqueous. The objective of this work is to observe the solubility of tamarind gum at room temperature by simple turbidity measurement of the solutions. The tamarind gum concentrations from 0.07 to 0.97wt% and two particle sized as <75 and 75-355 μm were interested variables. The relationship between the viscosity and solubility of the solution was investigated. We found that both turbidity and viscosity reached constant values at the same time. At this time, it could be noted that represented the saturated time of dissolution. For higher tamarind gum concentrations and with less particle size (<75 μm), the results showed that the saturated time of solubility appeared faster due to more specific area for dissolving and also the solubility rate increasing.