Rheological properties of guar, xanthan and alginate solutions prepared with salep addition were investigated. Two salep concentrations (0.05 and 0.1%) in addition to control samples (0% salep) were used in solutions with four different concentrations of gums (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0%). The highest AV value (8244 mPa s) was observed for alginate solutions among control samples that contained no salep. Apparent viscosity of samples increased with increasing amount of gum and salep. The power law model was used to describe the rheological properties of solutions. The flow behavior index of samples was in the range of 0.196-0.971 while consistency index changed 35.576-3189.9 mPa s". Analysis of variance results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) among different gums in terms of the synergistic effect. Guar gum particularly at higher concentrations was more effective in increasing K value of solution suggesting better synergy when used with salep. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.