Viscosity of aqueous solutions of gum ghatti

Gum ghatti contains a soluble gum and an insoluble gel which partially dissolves on boiling. Maceration of the gel in water gives a perfectly stable dispersion which for practical purposes behaves as a solution. The viscosity of the gel dispersion is ca 10–30 times that of the soluble gum. The proportion of gel in four commercial batches of gum ghatti varied from 8 to 23 %. The viscosity of the whole gum dispersion depends largely on the proportion of gel. The viscosity of gum ghatti can be closely controlled by blending to a fixed proportion of gel.