Andre Smith

November 18, 2015

FST 101A-A06, Wednesday 9 AM
RH
LAB 8 Polysaccharides: Functional Properties and Rheology
I. Purpose/Objective
The purpose of this lab is to examine the viscosity of different types of fluids and
how different pectins form gels depending on their structures.
II. Introduction
Polysaccharides have many different uses in the food industry. Their ability to
form gels and act as a thickener or stabilizer were examined in this experiment.
Polysaccharides have hydroxyl groups that can interact with water molecules.
Depending on the polysaccharides structure and where each hydroxyl group is
determines the solubility and the properties of the polysaccharide. Many soluble
polysaccharides have hydroxyl groups exposed to water and form more viscous
fluids. Many food labels will contain polysaccharides in the ingredients as they can be
used as a thickener, stabilizer, or a gel. The most common polysaccharides used in the
food industry are pectins, seaweed extract, and gums.
Pectins ability to form a gel was examined in this experiment. It can also be used
as a stabilizer or a thickener. High methoxyl pectins have greater than 50%
esterification. High methoxyl pectins are strongly hydrated, but with the addition of a
solute like sucrose the pectin has water drawn away from it, which allows interactions
originally blocked by the water to occur. Acid can also be applied to the solution to
protonate the hydroxyl groups and lower the negative repulsions between the pectin
chains. When the solution is heated and left to cool, a gel will form. Low methoxyl
pectins only have 30-50% esterification. Low methoxyl pectin does not require
solutes to dehydrate the chains, but do require divalent cations to form gels. The
cations interact with the anionic chains to form a cross-linked network.
Rheology is the study of deformation and flow of materials. Deformation and
flow can affect texture in food and rheology measurements can predict ingredient
quality and product stability. The three rheological behaviors of a system include
 elasticity, plasticity, and viscosity. Elasticity is deformation when stress is applied
and then disappears when the force is removed. Plasticity is the property of not
undergoing deformation until a certain stress value is reached, then retains the shape.
Viscosity is the flow of molecules in the system moving past each other. Each system
contains these three properties to varying degrees. Newtonian fluids do not
experience a change in viscosity as shear rate and shear stress increase. Dilatant fluids
experience an increase in viscosity as shear rate and shear stress increase. Viscosity
decreases in pseudoplastic fluids as shear rate and shear stress increase. Plastic fluids
are similar to Newtonian fluids in that their viscosity doesnt change as a
consequence of an increase in shear rate and shear stress, but they do require a certain
amount of force before the fluid moves. This lab examines the viscosity of Gak (a
corn starch solution), Corn Syrup, Xanthan Gum, and Ketchup.
III. Procedure
The procedure for Lab 7 is found in Principles of Food Composition, Laboratory
Manual, FS&T 101A (2015) page 91. The only modification for this lab was that
the gel solutions were not cooled in a cold water bath.
IV. Data
Gak Spindle 63
% ViscosityMean
RPM Torque (centipoise) SD
20 3.3 288 6
40 9.1 301.5 14.8
80 18.1 318 1.5
160 38.4 442.3 7.5
212 85 518 13.7
Table 1a: Viscometer data for Gak at 17.9 degrees Celsius.
Corn Syrup Spindle 64
ViscosityMean
RPM % Torque (centipoise) SD
0.75 2.1 16,600 400
1.5 4.3 17,000 230.8
3 8.8 17,600 30.1
6 17.5 17,530 50
Table 1b: Viscometer data for corn syrup at 18.2 degrees Celsius.
Xanthan Gum Spindle 64
 ViscosityMean
RPM % Torque (centipoise) SD
0.15 5.8 230000 2310
0.3 7.8 155000 4761
0.6 9.5 95000 3651
1.2 12.1 60630 8537
Table 1c: Viscometer data for xanthan gum at 17.4 degrees Celsius.
Ketchup Spindle 64
% ViscosityMean
RPM Torque (centipoise) SD
0.15 25.4 1014000 16810
0.3 30.1 601500 19420
0.6 32.3 322500 19420
1.2 35.2 176000 10300
Table 1d: Viscometer data for ketchup at 17.4 degrees Celsius.

Gak
550
y = 1.2288x + 247.73
500
R = 0.972
Viscosity (centipoise)

450

400

350

300

250
0 50 100 150 200 250
RPM

Fig 1a: Viscosity vs RPM for Gak.

 Corn Syrup
17,800
17,600

Viscosity (centipoise)
17,400
17,200
17,000 y = 162.43x + 16726
R = 0.6391
16,800
16,600
16,400
16,200
16,000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
RPM

Fig 1b: Viscosity vs. RPM for Corn Syrup.

Xanthan Gum
250000

y = -144307x + 216330
200000
Viscosity (centipoise)

R = 0.8137

150000

100000

50000

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
RPM

Fig 1c: Viscosity vs RPM for Xanthan Gum.

 Ketchup
1200000

1000000
Viscosity (centipoise)
y = -698551x + 921435
800000 R = 0.7742

600000

400000

200000

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
RPM

Fig 1d: Viscosity vs RPM for Ketchup.

Corn Syrup log viscosity

4.25

4.245

4.24
Log Viscosity

4.235
y = 0.0041x + 4.2234
4.23
R = 0.6387
4.225

4.22

4.215
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
RPM

Fig 2a: Log Viscosity vs RPM for Corn Syrup.

 Xanthan Gum log viscosity
5.4

5.3
y = -0.5234x + 5.3725
log Viscosity 5.2 R = 0.9306

5.1

4.9

4.8

4.7
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
RPM

Fig 2b: Log Viscosity vs RPM for Xanthan Gum.

Ketchup log viscosity

6.1
6
5.9 y = -0.6863x + 6.0209
5.8 R = 0.9342
log Viscosity

5.7
5.6
5.5
5.4
5.3
5.2
5.1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
RPM

Fig 2c: Log Viscosity vs RPM for Ketchup.

Table 2a: High Methoxy Pectin Observations

pH 3.3 More viscous than the other sample. Barely moves along the
edge of the container.
No pH change Less viscous. Moves as the container moves.

Table 2b: Low Methoxy Pectin Observations

 NaCl Fluid, not much solidification.
CaCl2 Some solidification. Top layer of liquid is fluid.
AlCl3 Most of the solution is solidified. Most viscous, but not as
smooth as HMP. More of a jelly-like consistency.

V. Results/Discussion
The data for Gak and Corn Syrup were retrieved from Smart Site. Gak is a dilatant
fluid. It was more difficult to move the solution as more force was applied to it. It
appeared more liquid-like when it was left untouched. Figure 1a shows that the slope of
the graph is positive with an R2 value greater than 0.90, indicating that the viscosity is
increasing as the RPM increases. The other three fluids did not have a graph with an R2
value larger than 0.90, so the log of the viscosity was plotted against RPM. Corn syrup is
a Newtonian fluid. Newtonian fluids have a constant viscosity when shear rate and shear
stress increases. Figure 2a is the plot of the log viscosity of corn syrup with increasing
RPM for corn syrup and it has a slope of 0.0041, which is indicative of very small change
in the viscosity of corn syrup as the RPM increases. Errors contributing to a slope
deviating from zero come from miscalculations from the machine or possibly from
prolonged exposure to the environment. The R2 value for figure 2a is still less than 0.90.
Xanthan Gum is a pseudoplastic fluid. Pseudoplastic fluids experience a decrease in
viscosity as more force is applied to them. Figure 2b shows a negative slope showing that
the viscosity is decreasing. Ketchup is a plastic fluid. Figure 2c is very similar to figure
2b, so it is difficult to see from the data that ketchup and xanthan gum have different
rheological behaviors. From qualitative data, ketchup bottles are known to require a force
before the ketchup can be extracted from the container, which is a property of plastic
fluids. The biggest difference between the two graphs is that ketchup starts at a higher
viscosity than xanthan gum, which indicates that a larger force was required to cause
ketchup to move.
The gelling capabilities of high methoxyl and low methoxyl pectins were observed.
The HMP solution was heated with sucrose, which was added to decrease the water
activity within the solutions and allow interactions normally blocked by water to occur.
The HMP created a stronger gel when the tartaric acid was added to bring the pH down to
 3.3. The acid protonated some of the carboxyl groups which reduced the negative
repulsions of the chain and allowed a stronger network to form. The low methoxyl pectin
still produced a smooth, viscous solution, but it was not as solid as the HMP solution at
pH 3.3. The low methoxyl pectins did not require solutes like HMP but did require
cations to strengthen the gel. The salts added all had chlorine in common as the anion and
only differed in their cations. The LMP solution with sodium produced the weakest gel.
Divalent cations produce strong gels in LMP solutions, but the solution with aluminum
created a stronger gel than the one with calcium, which is a divalent cation. It is possible
that the 3+ charge of aluminum weakened the negative repulsion of the chains to an even
greater extent or perhaps interacted with a third part of the chain to build a stronger cross-
linked network.

VI. Conclusion
This experiment demonstrated the effects of a polysaccharides structure on its function.
The structure of a polysaccharide can give a food product a different texture, and as
mentioned before can be used as stabilizers, thickeners, and gel-formers. The subtle
differences in the pectins used created very different gels. The rotational viscometer was
successful in illustrating how different fluids can react to shearing. When the R2 value of
the plots were <0.90, the log of viscosity was plotted against RPM to find a more
correlative relationship. The spindle size on the viscometer is important to obtain more
accurate information. Fluids that do not require a lot of force to due to their viscosity use
smaller spindles. This is why Gak uses a smaller spindle size than the other fluids. An
improvement to this lab could be to have one group work with one viscometer and have
the other groups at the table share information for the other fluids.

VII. Questions
1. With regards to the viscosity of the Xanthan gum suspensions, explain why its such a
popular addition to sauces.
Xanthan gum can be used to thicken a food product without requiring much added gum. When in
a product such as salad dressing, the solution remains thick in the container, but thins out once
shaken due to the pseudoplastic properties of xanthan gum.