Gum base
Encyclopedia
Gum base is the non-nutritive, non-digestible, water-insoluble masticatory delivery system used to carry sweeteners
, flavor
s and any other desired substances in chewing gum
and bubble gum. It provides all the basic textural and masticatory properties of gum.
Gum bases for chewing gum are different from those for bubble gum. A bubble gum base is formulated with the ability to blow bubbles; it contains higher levels of elastomers or higher molecular weight polymers for this purpose. Gum bases for non-acid flavored gum use calcium carbonate
as a filler, while gum bases for acid flavored gum use talc
as a filler, since acids can react with calcium carbonate
to produce a gas, which is undesirable.
Bubble gum usually contains 15-20% gum base, while chewing gum contains 20-25% gum base and sugar-free chewing gum contains 25-30% gum base.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana and at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company are studying the possibility of making gum base with biodegradable zein
(corn protein).
Large chewing gum manufacturers generally produce their own gum base in-house while small chewing gum producers usually buy gum base from third-party suppliers.
, but generally consists of ingredients from the following categories:
Old gum bases were based on either natural elastomers such as latex
es, vegetable gums
like chicle
, spruce gum
, and mastic gum, or alternatively on wax
es, eg. paraffin wax and beeswax
, but today synthetic rubbers are preferred.
Sugar substitute
A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, usually with less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are natural and some are synthetic. Those that are not natural are, in general, called artificial sweeteners....
, flavor
Flavor
Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat as well as temperature and texture, are also very important to the overall...
s and any other desired substances in chewing gum
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
and bubble gum. It provides all the basic textural and masticatory properties of gum.
Gum bases for chewing gum are different from those for bubble gum. A bubble gum base is formulated with the ability to blow bubbles; it contains higher levels of elastomers or higher molecular weight polymers for this purpose. Gum bases for non-acid flavored gum use calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...
as a filler, while gum bases for acid flavored gum use talc
Talc
Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg34 or Mg3Si4O102. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, its crystals being so rare as to be almost unknown...
as a filler, since acids can react with calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...
to produce a gas, which is undesirable.
Bubble gum usually contains 15-20% gum base, while chewing gum contains 20-25% gum base and sugar-free chewing gum contains 25-30% gum base.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana and at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company are studying the possibility of making gum base with biodegradable zein
Zein
Zein is a class of prolamine protein found in maize. It is usually manufactured as a powder from corn gluten meal.-Commercial uses:Zein is one of the best understood plant proteins and has a variety of industrial and food uses...
(corn protein).
Large chewing gum manufacturers generally produce their own gum base in-house while small chewing gum producers usually buy gum base from third-party suppliers.
Composition and manufacture
The exact composition of gum bases is usually a trade secretTrade secret
A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers...
, but generally consists of ingredients from the following categories:
- Elastomers: provide the elasticity or bounce, and can be natural latexLatexLatex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
es (eg. couma macrocarpa (also called leche caspi or sorva), loquatLoquatThe loquat , Eriobotrya japonica, is a fruit tree in the family Rosaceae, indigenous to southeastern China. It was formerly thought to be closely related to the genus Mespilus, and is still sometimes known as the Japanese medlar...
(also called nispero), tunu, jelutongJelutong (tree)The jelutong is a species of tree in the oleander subfamily. It grows to approximately 60 metres tall with diameters of 2 metres , or even to 80 m tall with diameters to 3 m , and boles clear and straight for 30 m...
, or chicleChicleManilkara chicle is a tropical evergreen tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree ranges from Veracruz in Mexico south to Atlántico in Colombia...
which is still commercially produced), or synthetic rubbers (eg. styrene-butadiene rubber, butyl rubberButyl rubberButyl rubber is a synthetic rubber, a copolymer of isobutylene with isoprene. The abbreviation IIR stands for Isobutylene Isoprene Rubber. Polyisobutylene, also known as "PIB" or polyisobutene, n, is the homopolymer of isobutylene, or 2-methyl-1-propene, on which butyl rubber is based...
, polyisobutylene). - Resins: provide a cohesive body or strength, and are most often glycerol esters of gum, terpene resins, and/or polyvinyl acetatePolyvinyl acetatePolyvinyl acetate, PVA, PVAc, poly, is a rubbery synthetic polymer with the formula n. It belongs to the polyvinyl esters family with the general formula -[RCOOCHCH2]-...
. - Waxes: act as softening agents and are most usually paraffinParaffinIn chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
or microcrystalline waxMicrocrystalline waxMicrocrystalline waxes are a type of wax produced by de-oiling petrolatum, as part of the petroleum refining process. In contrast to the more familiar paraffin wax which contains mostly unbranched alkanes, microcrystalline wax contains a higher percentage of isoparaffinic hydrocarbons and...
. - FatFatFats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
s: behave as plasticizers and mainly come from hydrogenated vegetable oils. - Emulsifiers: help to hydrate, the most common being lecithinLecithinLecithin is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues, and in egg yolk, composed of phosphoric acid, choline, fatty acids, glycerol, glycolipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids .The word lecithin was originally coined in 1847 by...
or glycerol monostearateGlycerol monostearateGlycerol monostearate, commonly known as GMS, is an organic molecule used as an emulsifier. GMS is a colorless, odorless, and sweet-tasting flaky powder that is hygroscopic. It is a glycerol ester of stearic acid...
. - Fillers: impart texture and the most commonly used are calcium carbonateCalcium carbonateCalcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...
or talcTalcTalc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg34 or Mg3Si4O102. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, its crystals being so rare as to be almost unknown...
. - Antioxidants: protect from oxidation and extend shelf-life; the most common type is BHTButylated hydroxytolueneButylated hydroxytoluene , also known as butylhydroxytoluene, is a lipophilic organic compound that is primarily used as an antioxidant food additive as well as an antioxidant additive in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, jet fuels, rubber, petroleum products, electrical transformer oil, and embalming...
.
Old gum bases were based on either natural elastomers such as latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
es, vegetable gums
Natural gum
Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers...
like chicle
Chicle
Manilkara chicle is a tropical evergreen tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree ranges from Veracruz in Mexico south to Atlántico in Colombia...
, spruce gum
Spruce gum
Spruce gum is a chewing material made from the resin of spruce trees. In North America, spruce gum was chewed by Native Americans, and was later introduced to the early American pioneers and was sold commercially by the 19th century, by John B. Curtis amongst others...
, and mastic gum, or alternatively on wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
es, eg. paraffin wax and beeswax
Beeswax
Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis. It is mainly esters of fatty acids and various long chain alcohols...
, but today synthetic rubbers are preferred.
See also
- BubblegumBubblegumBubblegum is a type of elastic chewing gum, designed to be blown out of the mouth as a bubble.-History:In 1928, Walter Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. One recipe was found to be less sticky than regular chewing gum,...
- Chewing gumChewing gumChewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
- Functional gum
- Gum industryGum industryTwo multi-national companies, Wrigley and Cadbury, together account for some 60% market share of the worldwide chewing gum market. The global market shares for the top 5 chewing gum companies are estimated to be:* 35% Wrigley Company...
- List of chewing gum brands