Liquid crystalline, rheological and thermal properties of konjac glucomannan

Konjac glucomannan (KGM) exhibited liquid crystalline (LC) behaviour in aqueous solutions above 7% (w/w) concentrations as was determined by polarized optical microscopy and circular dichroism. The rheological properties of the concentrated LC solutions of KGM exhibited pseudoplastic behaviour. The fibrous extrudates retained a significant degree of flow-induced orientation as was determined by wide angle X-ray scattering, thereby indicating potential applications of KGM as fibres and films. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments showed that a significant degree of interaction occurred between KGM and water and that the KGM gels produced in our study cannot be classified as thermoreversible.