Question

What are gums made of? Is Fevicol different?

Answer 1

Hint: Gums are natural heteropolysaccharides which are formed by different monosaccharide units linked together through glycosidic bonds. Fevicol is an artificial glue consisting of polymer.

Complete Answer:
- Gums are made up from two or more different types of derived monosaccharides. On the other hand, fevicol is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) glue. It is not a polysaccharide.
- Natural gum is a polysaccharide that is naturally found in plants. At low concentration it has high viscosity. Fevicol is artificial glue.
- Synthetic glue is commonly made of polymers which are soluble in solvent. When the gluey substance is exposed, the solvent evaporates; causes in hardening of that substance. Synthetic glue comes in different strengths and is used accordingly.

Additional information:
The physicochemical composition and functional characteristics of the gum secret from the shoot of the Prunus dulcis (almond tree) have been looked over, along with the foaming and emulsification characteristics. The gum eliminates are made on a dry weight base by 2.45% of proteins, 0.85% of fats and 92.36% of carbohydrates.

Note: Fevicol branded glue is a white adhesive (the company brochures mention poly-synthetic resin). It appears as white glue (liquid). Chemically we can synthesize it by heating formaldehyde and urea together. Natural gums are used in the food industry as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers, and in other industrial adhesives, binding agents, crystal inhibitors, clarifying agents, encapsulating agents, flocculating agents, swelling agents, foam stabilizers, etc.