Rheological properties of konjac glucomannan

Remarkable non-linear change tendencies of rheological properties of konjac glucomannan (KGM) were detected through analysis of the correlation between the viscosity (η) of KGM gum and KGM concentrations, temperatures, hydrated time and shear rates. The η increased exponentially with the increase of concentration (η= 0.0005e^8.7994C). Cubic polynomial regression equation could fit to temperature effect and hydrated rate data well. KGM gum belongs to pseudoplastic fluid, and its shear rheological curves conformed to the Power Law, and the change tendencies of viscosity factor (K) and flow index (n) correlated with concentration and temperature were also obtained, the curves can be fitted by power and quadratic polynomial equation, respectively. The effect inflection point of non-linear correlations, namely concentration (0.70%), temperature (50℃) and hydrated time (40 min), and non-linear correlation curves of K and n were acquired, which can provide reliable foundation for rational applications of KGM in food industry and its grade estimation.