Student: Trung Nguyen Thanh ID: 5615001216

Advisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Weerachet Jittanit

RESEARCH METHODS IN FOOD SCIENCE
Thesis title:
Development of production process for xyloglucan powder extracted
from tamarind seed

I. INTRODUCTION
Tamarind
Tamarind trees is a member of the dicotyledonous family and is widely cultivated
through tropical and subtropical region, especially in India and in South East Asisa countries.
Tamarind trees can grow well in poor soil because of their capability to fixing nitrogen and
withstand drought for long period, bring the high yield. Tamarind pulp is used for souring agent
for curries, sauces and certain beverages while tamarind seed is the major by-product in tamarind
industry.
Xyloglucan
Xyloglucan is a soluble hemicellulose and mainly present in the primary cell wall of
dicotyledonous plants. It is a highly substituted, food-grade and starch-like polysaccharide,
which can be substitute pectin in making jam and jelly product. The component of xyloglucan
include 3 primary sugars: glucose, galactose and xylose in molar ratio 3:1:2. Xyloglucan exits in
some seeds of tropical trees, and the best example is tamarind seed polysaccharide.
Xyloglucan in tamarind seed (Jellose)
As mentioned above, tamarind seed is a cheap sources of raw materials for industrial
purpose and the main industrial product is tamarind kernel power, which is accepted in Japan as
food ingredient.
Tamarind seed xyloglucan, also called Jellose due to its gel forming properties, was
extracted from tamarind kernel powder. They form gels over a wide range of pH, and act as
viscosity enhancer. Therefore, a number of their application have been reported: thickening,
gelling and stabilizing agent in food industry, sizing and weaving in textiles industry, adhesive
and binding agent in pharmaceuticals industry.
Methods for isolation xyloglucan from tamarind seed
A number of methods were devised and improved on laboratory scale
1. Extraction and purification of tamarind seed polysaccharide. Rao et al., 1946
2. Tamarind in industrial gum. Rao & Srivastava, 1973
3. A process for preparation of polyose from tamarind seed. Nandi, 1975
4. Clarified tamarind powder. Duane, 1978
However, a lack of research for producing xyloglucan from tamarind seed in Thailand.
Previous work in research group
A senior student have already achieved a process for extracting xyloglucan from tamarind seed
(as seen in the flowchart). However, the process takes a long time and requires manual-operation
in many steps. Therefore, a need to improve the process has been considerated.


Tamarind seed Peeling Milling
Extraction
(alcohol and
enzyme)
Centrifuge
Purification
(alcohol
coagualation)
Evaporation Spray dry


II. HYPOTHESIS
Tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP) is extracted in pilot scale followed previous study, and then
improve the process in term of better quality, time saving, and higher yield.
The improvement could be done by modifying the steps that cause the significant loss in process:
Neglect the seed coat removing step due to time consuming
Defatting by hexane
Compare effect of spray dryer and drum dryer on yield.
III. OBJECTIVE
Overall objective
To shorten the previous process with higher yield and better quality.
Specific objective
To improve the quality of Jellose to be close to commercial product.
REFERENCE
Mishra, A. and Malhotra, A.V. 2009. Tamarind xyloglucan: a polysaccharide with versatile
application potential. J. Mater. Chem. 19: 8526-8536.
Gupta, V., Puri, R., Gupta, S., Jain, S. and Rao, G. K. 2010. Tamarind kernel gum: an upcoming
natural polysaccharide. Sys. Rev. Pharm. Vol 1, Issue 1.
Joseph, J., Kanchalochana, S. N., Rajalakshmi, G., Hari, V. and Durai, R. D. 2012. Tamarind
seed polysaccharide: A promising natural excipient for pharmaceuticals. International Journal
of Green Pharmacy.
Gidley, M. J., Lillford, P. J., Rowlands, D. W., Lang, P., Dentini, M., Crescenzi, V., Edwards,
M., Fanutti, C., and Reid, J. S. G. 1991. Structure and solution properties of tamarind-seed
polysaccharide. Carbohydr. Res., 214, 299-314.
Nishinari, K., Yamatoya, K., and Shirakawa, M. 2000. Xyloglucan, pp. 247-267. In Phillips, G.
O., Williams, P. A. (eds.). Handbook of Hydrocolloids. 2
nd
ed. Woodhead Publishing.
Cambridge.