Rheological study and fractal analysis of flaxseed gum gels

The rheological properties and fractal dimensions of flaxseed gum gels were analyzed in various ionic strength values ranging between 0 and 1000 mM. The rheological properties of flaxseed gum were significantly influenced by the ionic strength. The gel strength first increased then decreased with the increasing of ionic strength and the strongest gel was obtained when the ionic strength was 400 mM. The calculated fractal dimensions of the flaxseed gum gels were 2.06–2.49 or 1.42–2.18, based on the model selected and the ionic strength applied. These results would help to understand the microstructure of the flaxseed gum gels and the influence of ionic strength on that. However, the difference in results between the two models implied that further study is needed to find suitable model for flaxseed gum gels.