Xanthan gum (E415) is a polysaccharide derived from Xanthomonas campestris by a fermentation process containing a carbohydrate substrate. Structurally, it contains D-glucose, D-mannose, and D-glucuronic acid as the dominant hexose units and is prepared as a mixture of the sodium and potassium salts. Xanthan gum is a creamy white powder that dissolves readily in hot or cold water to form viscous, non-thixotropic solutions. It is used as a stabilizer, emulsifier, thickener, suspending agent, bodying agent or foam enhancer in foods. 
Xanthan gum has very unusual and useful properties in that it has high viscosity at low concentrations, exhibits little change in viscosity with variation in temperature and gives excellent stability over a wide pH range. It also has good freeze-thaw stability and suspension properties. 
Xanthan gum has pseudoplastic properties which means the apparent viscosity in solution is very high, but if you pump or stir the solution it suddenly behaves like a liquid. Because the apparent viscosity is very high, xanthan is very suitable to stabilize suspensions, for example a clear salad dressing with vegetable particles "floating" inside.
Acatris has various xanthan grades available, e.g. clear solution, easy dispersible or salt tolerant. Please contact our sales department to find out which grade is most suitable for your application.