Cashew Gum (Anacardium occidentale): Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes by Thermoplastic Extrusion

Tropical countries such as Brazil are rich in a great variety of plant sources of polysaccharides, some of which are not known or explored yet and could have great potential in industrial applications. Some studies report the possible industrial application of cashew gum as substitute for Arabic gum owing to their structural similarity. This study aimed at comparing properties of these gums before and after two treatments of thermoplastic extrusion. The cashew gum raw and processed was found to possess high content of soluble fibers and low ash content, also exhibiting a lower content of minerals in comparison with Arabic gum. The rapid viscosity increased upon processing for Arabic gum, while it decreased for cashew gum. With x-ray diffraction we confirmed the amorphous conformation of the polymer chains of both samples. From the parameters evaluated, we conclude that cashew gum could be used as a replacement for Arabic gum.