''Tara spinosa'', commonly known as ''tara'' (

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

), also known as Peruvian carob or spiny holdback, is a small

leguminous Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

tree or thorny

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

native to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. ''T. spinosa'' is cultivated as a source of

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

s based on a

galloyl Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plant ...

ated

quinic acid Quinic acid is an organic compound with the formula . The compound is classified as a cyclitol, a cyclic polyol, and a cyclohexanecarboxylic acid. It is a colorless solid that can be extracted from plant sources. Quinic acid is implicated in the p ...

structure. This chemical structure has been confirmed also by LC–MS.M. N. Clifford, S. Stoupi and N. Kuhnert
''Profiling and Characterization by LC-MSn of the Galloylquinic Acids of Green Tea, Tara Tannin, and Tannic Acid''
J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55 (8), pp. 2797-2807. DOI: 10.1021/jf063533l. Publication Date (Web): March 24, 2007. It is also grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

because of its large colorful flowers and pods.

Names and taxonomy

Its common names include spiny holdback, ''tara'', ''taya'', and ''algarroba tanino'' (Peru). ''Tara spinosa'' is placed in the family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

, subfamily

Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name '' Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae a ...

, and tribe

Caesalpinieae The tribe Caesalpinieae is one of the subdivisions of the plant family Fabaceae: subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Genera Caesalpinieae once included many more genera, but modern molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of p ...

Description

''Tara spinosa'' typically grows tall; its bark is dark gray with scattered prickles and hairy twigs. Leaves are alternate, evergreen, lacking

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

bipinnate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...

, and lacking petiolar and

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...

glands. Leaves consist of three to ten pairs of primary leaflets under in length, and five to seven pairs of subsessile elliptic secondary leaflets, each about long.

Inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s are long terminal

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s, many flowered and covered in tiny hairs. Flowers are yellow to orange with 6- to 7-mm

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s; the lowest

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

is boat-shaped with many long marginal teeth;

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s are yellow, irregular in length and barely protruding. The fruit is a flat, oblong

indehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that ...

pod, about long and wide, containing four to seven round black seeds, which redden when mature.

Distribution and habitat

''Tara spinosa'' is native to Peru and can be found growing throughout northern, western, and southern South America, from Venezuela to Argentina. It has been introduced in drier parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa and has become naturalized in California. ''T. spinosa'' grows in the nearly rainless

lomas ''Lomas'' (Spanish for "hills"), also called fog oases and mist oases, are areas of fog-watered vegetation in the coastal desert of Peru and northern Chile. About 100 lomas near the Pacific Ocean are identified between 5°S and 30°S latitude, a ...

or fog oases of the Peruvian coastal desert. Generally resistant to most pathogens and pests, it grows at elevations between 0 and above sea level, and tolerates dry climates and poor soils, including those high in sand and rocks. To propagate, seeds must be scarified (treated to break physical dormancy), and young plants should be transplanted to the field at in height; trees begin to produce after 4–5 years. Mature pods are usually harvested by hand and typically sun dried before processing. If well irrigated, trees can continue to produce for another 80 years, though their highest production is between 15 and 65 years of age.

Uses

Industrial

''Tara spinosa'' pods are an excellent source of

s (tara tannins) most commonly used in the manufacture of automotive and furniture leathers.J. C. Castell Escue
''TARA (Caesalpinia spinosa): the sustainable source of tannins for innovative tanning processes''
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). Barcelona, January 2012. This growing industry is developing around their production in Peru. Some producers have their own plantations to guarantee constant quality. Tara tannin derivatives are being proposed as

antifouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

against marine organisms that can grow on ship hulls.N. Bellotti, B. Del Amo, R. Romagnoli
''Caesalpinia spinosa tannin derivatives for antifouling formulations''
Procedia Materials Science, Volume 1, 2012, pp. 259-265. 11th International Congress on Metallurgy & Materials SAM/CONAMET 2011. Those tannins are of the hydrolysable type.

Gallic acid Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plant ...

is the main constituent of tara tannins (53%) and can be easily isolated by alkaline

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

of the plant extract.

Quinic acid Quinic acid is an organic compound with the formula . The compound is classified as a cyclitol, a cyclic polyol, and a cyclohexanecarboxylic acid. It is a colorless solid that can be extracted from plant sources. Quinic acid is implicated in the p ...

is also a constituent of the tara tannins.S. Giovando, A. Pizzi, H. Pasch and N. Pretorius
''Structure and Oligomers Distribution of Commercial Tara (Caesalpina spinosa) Hydrolysable Tannin''
PRO LIGNO Vol. 9 N° 1 2013, pp. 22-31, ISSN-L 1841-4737, ONLINE ISSN 2069-7430. Its tannins are colourless or light making them suitable a premordant in the

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

of cotton and other cellulose fibres. The tree can also be a source of lumber and firewood, and as a live fence. The seeds can be used to produce black dye, while dark blue dye can be obtained from the roots.

Food additives

Major food additives derived from ''T. spinosa'' include tara flour, which is potentially toxic, and tara gum, commonly used as a thickener and stabilizer. Tara flour is produced from the germ (embryo) of the tara seed, while gum is produced from the seed's

endosperm The endosperm is a tissue produced inside the seeds of most of the flowering plants following double fertilization. It is triploid (meaning three chromosome sets per nucleus) in most species, which may be auxin-driven. It surrounds the Embryo#Pla ...

Tara flour banned by FDA

On May 15, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of tara flour, having determined tara flour in human food does not meet the

generally recognized as safe Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) is a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts under the conditions of its intended use. An ingredient with a GRAS d ...

(or GRAS) standard and is an unapproved food additive. On July 19, 2022, the food company

Daily Harvest Daily Harvest is an American company that operates on a direct-to-consumer subscription model for frozen, plant-based food. Headquartered in New York City, the company ships pre-portioned meals and snacks, including smoothies, harvest bowls, flatbre ...

had identified tara flour, which is derived from the seeds of ''Tara spinosa'', as the ingredient that had sickened hundreds of its customers. A handful of lawsuits have been filed against the company. The chemical compound hypothesized to be responsible is

baikiain Baikiain is an organic compound with the molecular formula . Chemically, it is classified as a tetrahydropyridine substituted with a carboxylic acid. Because it contains both this carboxylic acid and an adjacent amine group, it is also an alpha-a ...

Tara gum

Tara gum, produced from a different part of the tara seed, remains safe to consume. According to the FDA, tara gum has a well established safety profile and is "distinct from tara flour". Tara gum is a white or beige, nearly odorless powder that is produced by separating and grinding the endosperm of ''T. spinosa'' seeds. Tara gum consists of a linear main chain of (1-4)-β-D-mannopyranose units attached by (1–6) linkages with α-D-galactopyranose units.''TARA GUM''
. Prepared at the 30th JECFA (1986), published in FNP 37 (1986) and in FNP 52 (1992). Metals and arsenic specifications revised at the 57th JECFA (2001). The major component of the gum is a

galactomannan Galactomannans are polysaccharides consisting of a mannose backbone with galactose side groups, more specifically, a (1-4)-linked beta-D-mannopyranose backbone with branchpoints from their 6-positions linked to alpha-D-galactose, (i.e. 1-6-linked ...

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

similar to the main components of

guar The guar (from : gvār) or cluster bean, with the botanical name ''Cyamopsis tetragonoloba'', is an annual plant, annual legume and the source of guar gum. It is also known as gavar, gawar, or guvar bean. The genus name ''Cyamopsis'' means '' ...

and

locust bean The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a Flowering plant, flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit, which takes the form of seed pods, an ...

gums that are used widely in the food industry. The ratio of mannose to galactose in tara gum is 3:1.W. Sittikijyothin, D. Torres, M.P. Gonçalves
''Modelling the rheological behaviour of galactomannan aqueous solutions''
Carbohydrate Polymers, Volume 59, Issue 3, pp 339–350, 18 February 2005. Tara gum has been deemed safe for human consumption as a food additive. Tara gum is used as a

thickening agent 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 ...

and stabilizer in a number of food applications. A solution of tara gum is less viscous than a

guar gum Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan polysaccharide extracted from guar beans that has thickening and stabilizing properties useful in food, feed, and industrial applications. The guar seeds are mechanically dehusked, hydrated, mi ...

solution of the same concentration, but more viscous than a solution of

locust bean gum Locust bean gum (LBG, carob gum, carob bean gum, carobin, E410) is a galactomannan vegetable gum extracted from the seeds of the carob tree (''Ceratonia siliqua'') and used as a thickening agent (gelling agent) in food technology. Productio ...

. Furthermore, tara gum shows an intermediate acid stability between locust bean gum and guar gum. It resists the depolymerisation effect of organic acids down to a pH of 3.5. This gum is also stable to high-temperature treatment, up to 145 °C in a continuous process plant. Blends of tara with modified and unmodified starches can be produced which have enhanced stabilization and emulsification properties, and these are used in the preparation of convenience foods, such as

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. One example is the American ice cream brand

Breyers Breyers is an ice cream and frozen dessert brand with headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Since 1993, Breyers has been owned and managed by the British conglomerate, Unilever. Founded in 1866, Breyers is the oldest manufacturer of ...

. The European food additive number for tara gum is E417. Tara gum is listed on the Canadian List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents (Lists of Permitted Food Additives) as item T.2B.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q289651 Caesalpinieae Trees of Peru E-number additives