Tragacanth is a

natural gum Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large increase in a solution's viscosity, even at small concentrations. They are mostly botanical gums, found in the woody elements of plants or in seed coatings. Human ...

obtained from the dried sap of several species of

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

ern legumes of the genus ''

Astragalus ''Astragalus'' is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to tempe ...

'', including '' A. adscendens'', '' A. gummifer'', '' A. brachycalyx'', and '' A. tragacantha''. Some of these species are known collectively under the common names "goat's thorn" and "locoweed". The gum is sometimes called

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

gum, shiraz, gum elect or gum dragon. The name derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words ''tragos'' (meaning "goat") and ''akantha'' ("thorn").

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

is the biggest producer of this gum. Gum tragacanth is a viscous, odorless, tasteless, water-soluble mixture of polysaccharides obtained from sap that is drained from the root of the plant and dried. The gum seeps from the plant in twisted ribbons or flakes that can be powdered. It absorbs water to become a

gel A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still dif ...

, which can be stirred into a paste. The major fractions are known as tragacanthin, highly water-soluble as a mucilaginous colloid, and the chemically related bassorin, which is far less soluble but swells in water to form a gel. The gum is used in vegetable-tanned leatherworking as an edge slicking and burnishing compound, and is occasionally used as a stiffener in textiles. The gum has been used historically as a herbal remedy for such conditions as cough and diarrhea. Powders using tragacanth as a basis were sometimes called diatragacanth. As a

mucilage Mucilage is a thick, gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. These microorganisms include protists which use it for their locomotion. The direction of their movement is always opposite to that of the secretion of m ...

or paste, it has been used as a topical treatment for burns. It is used in pharmaceuticals and foods as an emulsifier,

thickener A thickening agent or thickener is a substance which can increase the viscosity of a liquid without substantially changing its other properties. Edible thickeners are commonly used to thicken sauces, soups, and puddings without altering their t ...

, stabilizer, and texturant additive ( E number E413). It is the traditional binder used in the making of artists'

pastels A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

, as it does not adhere to itself the same way other gums (such as

gum arabic Gum arabic, also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum originally consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the ''Acacia'' tree, '' Senegalia se ...

) do when dry. Gum tragacanth is also used to make a paste used in floral sugarcraft to create lifelike flowers on wires used as decorations for cakes, which air-dries brittle and can take colorings. It enables users to get a very fine, delicate finish to their work. It has traditionally been used as an adhesive in the cigar-rolling process used to secure the cap or "flag" leaf to the finished cigar body. In the Middle East, and in Turkey in particular, gum tragacanth is used in

paper marbling Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other kinds of stone. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then ca ...

to make

size Size in general is the magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to linear dimensions ( length, width, height, diameter, perimeter), area, or volume. Size can also be m ...

on which to float and shape the pigments, just as

carrageenan Carrageenans or carrageenins ( ; ) are a family of natural linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. Carrageenans are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. T ...

is used in the West. Gum tragacanth is also used in incense-making as a binder to hold all the powdered herbs together. Its water solubility is ideal for ease of working and an even spread, and it is one of the stronger gums for holding particles in suspension. Only half as much is needed, compared to gum arabic or something similar.

As food

It is common in

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, he ...

as "Goond Kateera" (also spelled as "Gond Katira"). "Goond" means "glue" or "tree sap" in Hindi, so that would mean "tree sap of Kateera". A common dish that uses it is the Jammu and Kashmir cuisine's special sundh.

Fisherman's Friend Fisherman's Friend is a brand of strong menthol lozenges manufactured by the Lofthouse company in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. History Fisherman's Friend was originally developed by pharmacist James Lofthouse in 1865 to relieve various ...

menthol lozenges and

Pastiglie Leone Pastiglie Leone is an Italian candy manufacturer of candies, jellies, gummy sweets, liquorice, fine chocolate and sugar- and calorie-free pastilles. The candies are produced in a variety of flavors. Pastiglie Leone was founded by Luigi Leone in 1 ...

contain gum tragacanth as an ingredient.

Notes

{{reflist Natural gums Edible thickening agents Food additives Cigars Indian spices E-number additives Food stabilizers