Acetylation of Sweitenia Mycrophylla Gum: Synthesis and Characterization

Abstract

Isolation of non-conventional gums has increased in the last decade; chemical modifications of these gums may produce gums with improved physicochemical and functional properties that are not available from commercial gums.Sweitenia mycrophylla gum was obtained from mahogany tree. The modification discussed include the acetylation of gum with acetic anhydride in the presence of sodium hydroxide. The resulting product was characterized by SEM, XRD,EDX, FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. The degree of acetylatation was 0.24.Physicochemical characteristics such as solubility, viscosity and swelling index of the Sweitenia mycrophylla gum and acetylated gum were also determined. The results show that the acetylated gum had higher values of solubility, viscosity and swelling index as 93.40% at 80oC, 65.4cs and 46.54% respectively while the native gum had solubility viscosity and swelling index as 30.10% at 80oC, 28.40cs and 15.20% respectively. Chemical modification via acetylation increased the solubility, viscosity and swelling index of Sweitenia mycrophylla gum. The experimental work provides enough evidence to exploit this natural biopolymer in food, textile and pharmaceutical industry, especially as an efficient alternative approach for the oral delivery of hydrophilic macromolecules.