Recent Advances in Production Processes and Applications of High-Acyl Gellan Gum

The current R&D focus for high-acyl gellan gum has shifted from basic production processes to the development of differentiated products. Compared to low-acyl products, the production process for high-acyl gellan gum involves a shorter extraction flow, causing its final product performance to be more directly influenced by fermentation conditions and raw material characteristics. This results in significant performance variations among products from different manufacturers, thereby creating opportunities for developing high value-added products. This characteristic has prompted leading manufacturers to concentrate their R&D resources on technological innovation for high-acyl and its derivative medium-acyl products.

In terms of application areas, high-acyl gellan gum primarily targets three tiers of markets: plant-based beverages , conventional dairy products, and neutral milk beverages . In the plant-based beverage sector, which has the lowest technical requirements, the relatively weak interaction between plant proteins (primarily globulins) and gellan gum means products from most suppliers can generally meet the demand. In the conventional dairy market, which has moderate technical requirements, casein and calcium ions are prone to react with the carbonyl groups of gellan gum. This necessitates that products maintain sufficient acyl content to provide steric hindrance. Products from internationally leading companies such as Tate & Lyle (Kelcogel LT 100), DSM-Firmenich (Gellaneer HA), and Jungbunzlauer (TayaGel HA D) perform stably in this area. While Chinese domestic products generally meet the standards, they still exhibit batch-to-batch quality fluctuations.

The neutral milk beverage market, with the highest technical requirements, faces dual challenges: on one hand, it requires controlling the activity of aryl sulfatase (ARS) and P-glucuronidase (PGR) produced during fermentation, as these residual enzymes can catalyze the formation of p-cresol, an undesirable flavor compound, during long-term storage. On the other hand, sufficient acyl content must be maintained to ensure product stability. The industry currently employs two main solutions: one involves sequential treatment with lysozyme and proteases to eliminate enzyme activity, and the other utilizes genetic engineering to knock out the enzyme-producing genes. Market products meeting the requirements for neutral milk beverages include Kelcogel HMBP, DSM-Firmenich Gellaneer ND103, and CAG High acyl gellan gum series, among others. These products have been successfully applied in chocolate milk, coffee beverages, and other products using UHT/HSTS processes.

Particularly noteworthy is the specialized segment of high-protein, high-calcium neutral milk beverages, which demands the utmost in product performance: requiring extremely low enzyme activity while maximizing the retention of acyl groups.