Influence of some Physical and Chemical Parameters on Flow Behavior of Salab Gum (Orchidaceae orchis) Solutions

Salab gum is a hydrocolloidal compound which can be extracted from detached roots, tubers as well as rhizomes of Orchidaceae family. Apart from its applications in pharmaceuticals it has many potential usages in foodstuffs particularly ice cream and local soft drinks. However, there is little evidence about its rheological properties in the literature. Therefore, in the present study, the influence of variables such as concentration (2–7 g l-1), temperature (5–55°C), pH (2, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 11) as well as rotational speed (up to 200 rpm) were examined on the apparent viscosity and flow behavior of the gum solution. Regarding the effect of the abovementioned parameters, our findings revealed that increasing rotational speed or shear rate at low concentrations (3 and 4 g l-1) had no effect on the apparent viscosity and those samples behaved like Newtonian fluids whereas, at slightly higher concentrations (5–7 g l-1), with increasing the rotational speed, the apparent viscosity diminished and the solution consequently showed a Pseudoplastic behavior. In all these experiments, the apparent viscosity was enhanced with increasing the concentration and diminished with increasing the temperature. In addition, changing the pH showed no significant effect on the apparent viscosity in the majority of samples. Furthermore, using mathematical equations, experimental findings (namely rotational speed and torque) were converted to their fundamental counterparts (shear rate and shear stress) and discussed.