Mass Transfer Kinetics Modeling of Gum Extraction from Wild Sage Seed

Introduction: Extraction of gums from plant seeds have recently become very attractive. Wild sage seed is cultivated in large quantities in different regions of Iran. This seed gum has good functional properties which is comparable with commercial food hydrocolloids.  Materials and Methods: In this study the effect of gum extraction temperature at three levels and pH of aqueous solution at three different values and the ratio of water to seed at two levels, on mass transfer kinetics of wild seed gum extraction were investigated.  Results: The results indicated that the increase in the temperature from 25 to 55°C resulted in higher gum extraction (pH of 7 and water to seed ratio of 30 to 1). The maximum value of gum was extracted at neutral condition and by increasing the ratio of water to seed (40 to 1), the rate of extraction of gum was also increased. The physical modeling of gum extraction process was carried out and was compared with the experimental data.  Conclusion: The experimental data were fitted to a mathematical model of mass transport and equation constants were obtained. Statistical results indicated that the model used in this study was able to predict the gum extraction from wild sage seed adequately and will be a useful tool for other gum-containing seeds.