Investigating and Comparing the Functional Properties of Tragacanth Gum, Locust Bean and Gum Alyssum homolocarpum Seed Gum for Coating Tomato

According to the high tomato loss in Iran, the aim of the present study was to introduce Iranian endemic gums including tragacanth, locust bean and Alyssum homolocarpum seed gums for coating this fruit and also to investigate and compare their functional properties. The results showed that the solution of Alyssum homolocarpum seed gum had the highest wettability (-22.92 mN/m) on the fruits surface following by tragacanth gum (-43.23 mN/m) and locust bean gum (-22.92 mN/m). Moreover, the tragacanth and Alyssum homolocarpum seed gums showed the highest and the lowest apparent viscosities respectively. Investigating the physical features of the films revealed that tragacanth gum and locust bean gum had the ability to form transparent and flexible film; while, Alyssum homolocarpum seed gum film was more opaque and had a greenish hue with less flexibility. The water vapor permeability of tragacanth and locust bean gum films was significantly higher than that of Alyssum homolocarpum seed gum film (P<0.05). According to the results, it can be concluded that although Alyssum homolocarpum seed gum film had higher wettability on the surface of tomato, locust bean gum and tragacanth gum were more appropriate choices for tomato coating due to the higher transparency, apparent viscosity, water vapour inhibition and solubility in water.