Book Description

Risk for dental caries is correlated with exposure time in acidic environments. A chewing gum that releases xylitol over an extended time is desired for maximizing beneficial effects. Data has yet to be collected about the time release properties of xylitol sweetened chewing gum made from a bacterial cellulose gum base. Furthermore, it is unknown if the release time can be extended by incorporating pectin within the bacterial cellulose pellicles. In this experiment, bacterial cellulose was produced from G. xylinum ATCC 53582. The harvested cellulose pellicles were freeze dried then rehydrated in different solutions. The first solution contained xylitol, the second contained xylitol and pectin, the third contained xylitol and xyloglucan. The physical properties were collected and compared using an Instron universal strength testing machine. The results may indicate that bacterial cellulose based chewing gum with pectin extends the release time of xylitol than the same gum without additives. If produced for consumer consumption, cellulose-based gum with pectin may provide longer lasting benefits improving oral cavity health by extending the release time of xylitol.