Guar Seed refers to the bean or cluster bean of the Cyamopsis tetragonolobus plant. The plant is an annual legume primarily cultivated in India which can be eaten as a green bean. Surprisingly, although guar primarily is grown for its gum content, very little was known about the variability of gum content in the seed of Cyamopsis tetragonolobus.
Guar is an important source of nutrition for animals and humans and is consumed as a vegetable and cattle feed. Apart from being consumed as feed for animals or vegetables for human consumption, it is used as a thickener in cosmetics, sauces, and salad dressings. Industrially it is used in mining, petroleum drilling, and textile manufacturing.
The guar or Lond bean, with the botanical name Cyamopsis tetragonoloba, is an annual legume and the source of guar gum. It is also known as Gavar, gawar, or guvar bean.
Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.) is an erect, bushy annual herbaceous legume up to 3 m high, with trifoliate leaves up to 10 cm long, and white or rose-colored flowers. The pods are straight, hairy, pale green, up to 12 cm long, and contain 5 to 12 hard seeds (beans) each.
Guar is a multi-purpose plant, mostly used today as a source of galactomannan gum, which is used as a thickener and stabilizer in foods such as salad dressings, ice cream, and yogurt. The gum and the water-soluble resin extracted from the seeds are also used in other industries, including paper manufacturing, cosmetics, mining, and oil drilling.