Carob
The carob tree (also known as the locust bean tree) is cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region, in the subtropics and in the tropics. The elongated fruits (pods approximately 20 cm long) are very palatable and a popular animal feed. According to legend, John the Baptist is said to have lived exclusively on these fruits in the desert. The pods contain up to 15 seeds, which always have a weight of 180 to 200 mg. For this reason, they were referred to by the Arabs as “carat” (1 ct = 200 mg) and used for weighing precious stones and gold. The ripe seeds consist of almost half prebiotic polysaccharides (galactomannans, also known as carubin). Carubin is responsible for the viscosity-increasing and gel-forming properties of locust bean gum.
Locust bean gum is produced from the seeds. In addition to its use in the food sector, it is used above all in infants, toddlers and children for the treatment of diarrhoeal illnesses. In addition to binding water, locust bean gum has the positive property of reducing the adhesion of bacteria to the intestinal mucosa. Furthermore, the polysaccharides serve as food for beneficial gut microbes, which stabilises the gut biome.