Extraction and Physicochemical Characterization of a New Polysaccharide Obtained from the Fresh Fruits of Abelmoschus Esculentus

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Raw Materials Development, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Idu, P.M.B.21 Garki-Abuja, Nigeria.

2 Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Physical Pharmacy, Purdue University, Indiana, USA.

3 Department of Chemistry, Howard University, USA.

4 Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Industrial Pharmacy University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This paper is the first multi-scale characterization of the fluidize-dried gum extracted from the fresh fruits of the plant Abelmoschus esculentus. It describes the physical, thermal, sorptional and functional properties of this natural gum. Elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XPRD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transmittance infra red (FT-IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the gum sample. Abelmoschus Esculentus Gum (AEG) had a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 70°C and no melting peak. It showed a 14.91% loss in weight at 195°C. X-ray diffractogram showed numerous broad halos for AEG. Elemental analysis showed that AEG contains 39.5, 7.3, 51.8, and 1.4% carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen respectively. The results obtained in this study established the fundamental characteristics of AEG and suggests its potential application in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors.

Keywords

Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research
Volume 10, Number 2
Spring 2011
Pages 237-246

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