Title
Gellan. Food applications
Authors
C. IURCIUC (TINCU) A. SAVIN C. LUNGU P. MARTIN and M. POPA

Received March 23, 2015
Published Volume 50 Issue 1 January
Keywords gellan, gel, food applications, gelling properties

Abstract
Gellan is an anionic polysaccharide, which is produced by Sphingomonaspaucimobilis bacterium through aerobic fermentation. One of its most important properties is the capacity to form gels through ionic reticulation in the presence of polyvalent cations. The gellan gels have various bioapplications in the technologies based on fermentation processes in medicine, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The aim of this paper is to present this biopolymer’s structure, physico-chemical and gelling properties, as well as to review the applications of gellan gels in the food industry.