Benzoic acid is a white (or colorless) solid with the formula C6H5CO2H. It is the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid. The name is derived from gum benzoin, which was for a long time its only source. Benzoic acid occurs naturally in many plants and serves as an intermediate in the biosynthesis of many secondary metabolites. Salts of benzoic acid are used as food preservatives. Benzoic acid is an important precursor for the industrial synthesis of many other organic substances. The salts and esters of benzoic acid are known as benzoates.
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on naturally occurring resins.
Acetophenone is the organic compound with the formula C6H5C(O)CH3 (also represented by the pseudoelement symbols PhAc or BzMe). It is the simplest aromatic ketone. This colorless, viscous liquid is a precursor to useful resins and fragrances.
Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its texture is reminiscent of rubber because of the physical-chemical properties of its polymer, plasticizer, and resin components, which contribute to its elastic-plastic, sticky, chewy characteristics.
Frankincense is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French franc encens.
Balsam is the resinous exudate which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam owes its name to the biblical Balm of Gilead.
Gum karaya or gum sterculia, also known as Indian gum tragacanth, is a vegetable gum produced as an exudate by trees of the genus Sterculia. Chemically, gum karaya is an acid polysaccharide composed of the sugars galactose, rhamnose and galacturonic acid. It is used as a thickener and emulsifier in foods, as a laxative, and as a denture adhesive. It is also used to adulterate Gum tragacanth due to their similar physical characteristics. As a food additive it has E number E416.
Benzoyl chloride, also known as benzenecarbonyl chloride, is an organochlorine compound with the formula C7H5ClO. It is a colourless, fuming liquid with an irritating odour. It is mainly useful for the production of peroxides but is generally useful in other areas such as in the preparation of dyes, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, and resins.
Benzoin or benjamin is a balsamic resin obtained from the bark of several species of trees in the genus Styrax. It is used in perfumes and some kinds of incense and as a flavoring and medicine. It is distinct from the chemical compound benzoin, which is ultimately derived chemically from benzoin resin; the resin, however, does not contain this compound.
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 taste; thickeners are also used in paints, inks, explosives, and cosmetics.
Resin acid refers to mixtures of several related carboxylic acids, primarily abietic acid, found in tree resins. Nearly all resin acids have the same basic skeleton: three fused rings having the empirical formula C19H29COOH. Resin acids are tacky, yellowish gums that are water-insoluble. They are used to produce soaps for diverse applications, but their use is being displaced increasingly by synthetic acids such as 2-ethylhexanoic acid or petroleum-derived naphthenic acids.
Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) or cellulose gum is a cellulose derivative with carboxymethyl groups (-CH2-COOH) bound to some of the hydroxyl groups of the glucopyranose monomers that make up the cellulose backbone. It is often used as its sodium salt, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. It used to be marketed under the name Tylose, a registered trademark of SE Tylose.
3-Methylbutanoic acid, also known as β-methylbutyric acid or more commonly isovaleric acid, is a branched-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula (CH3)2CHCH2CO2H. It is classified as a short-chain fatty acid. Like other low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids, it has an unpleasant odor. The compound occurs naturally and can be found in many foods, such as cheese, soy milk, and apple juice.
Boswellic acids are a series of pentacyclic terpenoid molecules that are produced by plants in the genus Boswellia. Like many other terpenes, boswellic acids appear in the resin of the plant that exudes them; it is estimated that they make up 30% of the resin of Boswellia serrata. While boswellic acids are a major component of the resin, the steam or hydro distilled frankincense essential oil does not contain any boswellic acid as these components are non-volatile and too large to come over in the steam distillation process.
The stool guaiac test or guaiac fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) is one of several methods that detects the presence of fecal occult blood. The test involves placing a fecal sample on guaiac paper and applying hydrogen peroxide which, in the presence of blood, yields a blue reaction product within seconds.
Gum base is the non-nutritive, non-digestible, water-insoluble masticatory delivery system used to carry sweeteners, flavors, and any other substances in chewing gum and bubble gum. It provides all the basic textural and masticatory properties of gum.
Propolis or bee glue is a resinous mixture that honey bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with exudate gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the beehive. Propolis is used for small gaps, while gaps larger than the bee space are usually filled with burr comb. Its color varies depending on its botanical source, with dark brown as the most common. Propolis is sticky at and above 20 °C (68 °F), while at lower temperatures it becomes hard and brittle.
Octenyl succinic acid modified gum Arabic is known to the FAO as a food additive. It has E number E423, and is a chemical modification of gum arabic.
