Emerging Natural Hydrocolloids

11 Persian Gum (Amygdalus scoparia Spach)

Soleiman Abbasi

Food Colloids and Rheology Laboratory, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, 1411713116, Tehran, Iran

11.1 Botanical Aspects and Importance

Almond botanically belongs to the Rosaceae family and Prunus genus. Prunus encompasses a large group of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, including Amygdalus, Prunophora, and Cerasus [1]. The Amygdalus L. itself consists of 26 well‐defined species and a long list of additional binomials (including 20 different botanical names). The principal diagnostic trait of Amygdalus is that it flowers before the appearance of leaves and bears fruit in which the pericarp (hull) dries out at maturity. In addition, Amygdalus L. was originally found in the hot and dry climate of the Middle East, in all probability the Iran plateau (Figure 11.1a), and subsequently spread over the other regions (Figure 11.1b), namely, Southeast Asia, Southeast Europe, the central Mediterranean basin, south Mongolia, and Western China [2,3].

Figure 11.1 Illustration of (a) different ecological zones of Iran and (b) natural distribution area of Amygdalus L., excluding cultivation.

Source: Adapted from Browicz and Zohary [2] with permission from Springer.

Amygdalus scoparia Spach (Synonym: Prunus scoparia Spach after the French Botanist ...