Chañar Gum (Geoffroea decorticans)

Given that we are in an increasingly competitive market generating more effective and creative strategies is essential to impact consumers positively. The main objective of the present work was to develop products from the flour obtained from the peel and pulp of the chañar fruit Geoffroea decorticans. Chañar is a regional tree; the fruit collection and use would allow the integral use of a tree that is considered a pest and, in turn, complies with the growing interest in sustainably using natural resources. Chañar gum, a polysaccharide type, is obtained from chañar flour through thermal hydrolysis. Physicochemical characterizations were carried out to the gum obtained, such as density, viscosity, diffusion, refractive index, UV-Visible, and Infrared spectroscopy. This study showed the possibility of getting a gum after hydrolysis with a yield of 5% wt. The results indicate that chañar flour has an energy value of 163 kcal, and carbohydrate content of 35.9 g in 100 g of chañar flour, values ​​suitable for any diet food. Furthermore, the chañar gum has potential application characteristics such as co-emulsifier, thickener, film-forming, etc.