Research Information System
Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, vol.2, no.4, pp.329-334, 1985 (SCI-Expanded)
Gum tragacanth, a versatile foodstuffs additive and pharmaceutical emulsifier, is a valuable rural crop of ecological importance derived from Astragalus spp. (fam. Leguminosae) growing wild in Iran and Turkey. For urgent international regulatory and legislative purposes concerning gum tragacanth, more extensive quantitative information regarding its chemical composition and more accurate information concerning its botanical origin in different regions of Turkey were required. A field survey has established that the major source is Astragalus microcephalus and not the historically accredited A. gummifer, from which only minor amounts of inferior quality gum are collected. Socio-economic and environmental benefits are attributable to this crop, a natural agricultural process requiring negligible inputs of energy and resources. © 1985 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.