Main uses of Xanthan gum

Because of its unique properties, Xanthan gum has extremely extensive applications in more than ten fields such as food, petroleum, medicine, daily chemical industry, etc. Its high degree of commercialization and wide range of applications make any other kind of microbial polysaccharide incomparable.

1. Food: Xanthan gum is added to many foods as stabilizer, emulsifier, suspending agent, thickener and processing assistant. Xanthan gum can control the rheology, structure, flavor and appearance of the product, and its pseudoplasticity can ensure good taste, so it is widely used in salad dressings, bread, dairy products, frozen foods, beverages, condiments, brewing, candy, cakes, soups and canned food. In recent years, people in more developed countries often worry that the calorific value of food is too high to make them fat. Xanthan gum can not be directly degraded by the human body, which dispels this concern. In addition, it was reported in Japan in 1985 that Xanthan gum was the most effective anticancer agent among eleven food additives through comparative tests.

2. Daily chemical industry: Xanthan gum molecule contains a large number of hydrophilic groups, which is a good surfactant, and has antioxidant, skin aging prevention and other effects. Therefore, almost most high-end cosmetics use Xanthan gum as its main functional component. In addition, Xanthan gum can also be used as an ingredient of toothpaste to substantially thicken and shape, and reduce tooth surface wear.

3. Medicine: Xanthan gum is a functional component in the internationally popular microcapsule drug capsules, which plays an important role in controlling drug release; Due to its strong hydrophilicity and water retention, it has many applications in specific medical operations, such as forming a dense water film to avoid Skin infection; Alleviate thirst in patients after radiation therapy. In addition, Li Xin and Xu Lei once wrote that Xanthan gum itself can significantly enhance the Humoral immunity function of mice.

4. Industrial and agricultural applications: in the petroleum industry, due to its strong pseudoplasticity, the low concentration Xanthan gum (0.5%) aqueous solution can maintain the viscosity of drilling fluid and control its rheological properties, so the viscosity is very small at the high-speed rotating bit, saving power; However, in the relatively static drilling area, high viscosity is maintained to prevent wellbore collapse. And due to its excellent salt resistance and heat resistance, it is widely used in drilling in special environments such as oceans and high salt zones, and can be used as an oil recovery and displacement agent to reduce dead oil zones and improve oil recovery rate.