Viscoelastic Characterization of Sage Seed Gum

Abstract

Wild sage seed is a small, rounded, and mucilaginous seed, which comes from Salvia macrosiphon. The viscoelastic behavior of sage seed gum, at different concentrations (0.5–2%, w/w), was examined by measuring the transient (in-shear structural recovery and creep/recovery tests) and dynamic (stress and frequency sweeps) rheological properties. The mechanical spectra showed typical weak gel behavior at all concentrations, with storage modulus higher than loss modulus, and little variation with frequency. Both moduli greatly increased with increasing the concentration, and the concentration dependency was well described by the power-law model. The loss tangent was increased slightly with increasing the frequency in the range of 0.25–0.67, although it was not affected by an increase in gum concentration. Moreover, the complex viscosity was found to increase with the increase of sage seed gum concentration and to decrease linearly with the increase of frequency. All samples showed typical viscoelastic response to stress in creep/recovery tests, with recoverable strain increasing in direct proportion to sage seed gum concentration. Creep curves were adequately fitted with a Burger model of four parameters. The elastic and viscous contributions to the general viscoelastic behavior were analyzed through the obtained parameters. The concentration had no specific effect on the in-shear recovery properties of sage seed gum gels, and the gel structure was highly recovered after applying shear. The results of this article indicated that sage seed gum may offer an excellent alternative for commercial gums as a thickening/gelling agent.