The amino acid composition of the proteinaceous components of konjac mannan, seed endosperm galactomannans and xanthan gum

Analytical data are presented for the amino acid compositions of commercial samples of konjac mannan, locust bean (carob) gum, tara gum, Sesbania (Dhaincha) gum and xanthan gum. Konjac mannan contains high proportions of aspartic acid, glutamic acid and glycine. Major amino acids in xanthan gum are alanine. glutamic acid. aspartic acid and glycine. There are similarities in the amino acid compositions of the seed endosperm galactomannans studied; all contain major amounts of glutamic acid, aspartic acid and glycine and similar proportions of all the other amino acids, with the exception of tara gum and Sesbania gum, which contain high proportions of alanine and histidine respectively. All the gums studied have very low hydroxyproline contents, in marked contrast to the values reported previously for the tree exudates from the leguminous genera Acacia (gum arabic), Astragalus (gum tragacanth) and Prosopis (gum mesquite).