GUM ARABIC

EC / List no.: 232-519-5
CAS no.: 9000-01-5

Gum Arabic , also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the acacia (sensu lato) tree, Acacia senegal (now known as Senegalia senegal) and Vachellia (Acacia) seyal. 
The term "Gum Arabic " does not indicate a particular botanical source. 
In a few cases, the so-called "Gum Arabic " may not even have been collected from acacia species, but may originate from Combretum, Albizia, or some other genus.
The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees, mostly in Sudan (80%) and throughout the Sahel, from Senegal to Somalia. 
The name "Gum Arabic " (al-samgh al-'arabi) was used in the Middle East at least as early as the 9th century. Gum Arabic  first found its way to Europe via Arabic ports, so retained its name.
Gum Arabic  is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides predominantly consisting of arabinose and galactose.
Gum Arabic is soluble in water, edible, and used primarily in the food industry and soft-drink industry as a stabilizer, with E number E414 (I414 in the US). 
Gum Arabic  is a key ingredient in traditional lithography and is used in printing, paint production, glue, cosmetics, and various industrial applications, including viscosity control in inks and in textile industries, though less expensive materials compete with Gum Arabic for many of these roles.

Definition
Gum arabic was defined by the 31st Codex Committee for Food Additives, held at The Hague from 19 to 23 March 1999, as the dried exudate from the trunks and branches of Acacia senegal or Vachellia (Acacia) seyal in the family Fabaceae (Leguminosae).
A 2017 safety re-evaluation by the Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said that the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a particular botanical source; in a few cases, so‐called "gum arabic" may not even have been collected from Acacia species.

Health Benefits
Gum Arabic is a rich source of dietary fibers and in addition to its widespread use in food and pharmaceutical industries as a safe thickener, emulsifier, and stabilizer, Gum Arabic also possesses a broad range of health benefits that have been evidently proved through several in vitro and in vivo studies.
Gum Arabic is not degraded in the stomach but fermented in the large intestine into a number of short chain fatty acids. 
Gum Arabic is regarded as a prebiotic that enhances the growth and proliferation of the beneficial intestinal microbiota and therefore its intake is associated with many useful health effects.
These health benefits include

1- Gum Arabic proved to improve absorption of calcium from the gastrointestinal tract.
2- Anti-diabetic
3- Anti-obesity (Gum Arabic lowers the body mass index and body fat percentage)
4- Lipid lowering potential (Gum Arabic decreases total cholesterol, LDL, and triglyceride)
5- Antioxidant activities
6- Kidney and liver support
7- Immune function via modulating the release of some inflammatory mediators.
8- Prebiotics improve the intestinal barrier function, prevent colon cancer, and alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel diseases.
9- In rats, Gum Arabic supplementation showed a protective effect on the intestine against the adverse actions of the NSAID drug, Meloxicam.

Usage
Gum arabic's mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins gives Gum Arabic the properties of a glue and binder that is edible by humans. 
Other substances have replaced Gum Arabic where toxicity is not an issue, as the proportions of the various chemicals in gum arabic vary widely and make Gum Arabic unpredictable. 
Still, Gum Arabic remains an important ingredient in soft drink syrup and "hard" gummy candies such as gumdrops, marshmallows, and M&M's chocolate candies. 
For artists, Gum Arabic is the traditional binder in watercolor paint and in photography for gum printing, and Gum Arabic is used as a binder in pyrotechnic compositions. 
Pharmaceutical drugs and cosmetics also use the gum as a binder, emulsifying agent, and a suspending or viscosity-increasing agent.
Wine makers have used gum arabic as a wine fining agent.

Gum Arabic is an important ingredient in shoe polish, and can be used in making homemade incense cones. 
Gum Arabic is also used as a lickable adhesive, for example on postage stamps, envelopes, and cigarette papers.
Lithographic printers employ Gum Arabic to keep the non-image areas of the plate receptive to water.
This treatment also helps to stop oxidation of aluminium printing plates in the interval between processing of the plate and its use on a printing press.

Food
Gum arabic is used in the food industry as a stabilizer, emulsifier, and thickening agent in icing, fillings, soft candy, chewing gum, and other confectionery, and to bind the sweeteners and flavorings in soft drinks.
A solution of sugar and gum arabic in water, gomme syrup, is sometimes used in cocktails to prevent the sugar from crystallizing and provide a smooth texture.

Gum arabic is a complex polysaccharide and soluble dietary fibre that is generally recognized as safe for human consumption. 
An indication of harmless flatulence occurs in some people taking large doses of 30 g or more per day.
Gum Arabic is not degraded in the intestine, but fermented in the colon under the influence of microorganisms; Gum Arabic is a prebiotic (as distinct from a probiotic). 
No regulatory or scientific consensus has been reached about its caloric value; an upper limit of 2 kcal/g was set for rats, but this is not valid for humans. 
The US FDA initially set a value of 4 kcal/g for food labelling, but in Europe no value was assigned for soluble dietary fibre. 
A 1998 review concluded that "based on present scientific knowledge, only an arbitrary value can be used for regulatory purposes".
In 2008, the USFDA sent a letter of no objection in response to an application to reduce the rated caloric value of gum arabic to 1.7 kcal/g

Painting and art

Gum arabic is used as a binder for watercolor painting because it dissolves easily in water. 
Pigment of any color is suspended within the acacia gum in varying amounts, resulting in watercolor paint. 
Water acts as a vehicle or a diluent to thin the watercolor paint and helps to transfer the paint to a surface such as paper. 
When all moisture evaporates, the acacia gum typically does not bind the pigment to the paper surface, but is totally absorbed by deeper layers.

If little water is used, after evaporation, the acacia gum functions as a true binder in a paint film, increasing luminosity and helping prevent the colors from lightening. 
Gum arabic allows more subtle control over washes, because it facilitates the dispersion of the pigment particles. 
In addition, acacia gum slows evaporation of water, giving slightly longer working time.

The addition of a little gum arabic to watercolor pigment and water allows for easier lifting of pigment from paper, thus can be a useful tool when lifting out color when painting in watercolor.

Ceramics
Gum arabic has a long history as additives to ceramic glazes. 
Gum Arabic acts as a binder, helping the glaze adhere to the clay before it is fired, thereby minimising damage by handling during the manufacture of the piece. 
As a secondary effect, it also acts as a deflocculant, increasing the fluidity of the glaze mixture, but also making it more likely to sediment out into a hard cake if not used for a while.

The gum is normally made up into a solution in hot water (typically 10–25 g/l), and then added to the glaze solution after any ball milling in concentrations from 0.02% to 3.0% of gum arabic to the dry weight of the glaze.
On firing, the gum burns out at a low temperature, leaving no residues in the glaze. 
More recently, particularly in commercial manufacturing, gum arabic is often replaced by more refined and consistent alternatives, such as carboxymethyl cellulose.

Photography
The historical photography process of gum bichromate photography uses gum arabic mixed with ammonium or potassium dichromate and pigment to create a coloured photographic emulsion that becomes relatively insoluble in water upon exposure to ultraviolet light. 
In the final print, the acacia gum permanently binds the pigments onto the paper.

Printmaking
Gum arabic is also used to protect and etch an image in lithographic processes, both from traditional stones and aluminum plates. 
In lithography, gum by itself may be used to etch very light tones, such as those made with a number-five crayon. 
Phosphoric, nitric, or tannic acid is added in varying concentrations to the acacia gum to etch the darker tones up to dark blacks. 
The etching process creates a gum adsorb layer within the matrix that attracts water, ensuring that the oil-based ink does not stick to those areas. 
Gum is also essential to what is sometimes called paper lithography, printing from an image created by a laser printer or photocopier.

Pyrotechnics
Gum arabic is also used as a water-soluble binder in fireworks composition.

Fuel charcoal
Gum arabic is used as a binding agent in the making of fuel charcoal. 
Charcoal made from the taifa plant is powdery, and so in order to form charcoal cakes, gum arabic is mixed with this powder and allowed to dry. 
Fuel charcoal made from taifa and gum arabic is used for cooking fires in Senegal and a few other African countries.

Composition
Arabinogalactan is a biopolymer consisting of arabinose and galactose monosaccharides. 
Gum Arabic is a major component of many plant gums, including gum arabic. 
8-5' Noncyclic diferulic acid has been identified as covalently linked to carbohydrate moieties of the arabinogalactan-protein fraction.

Production
While gum arabic has been harvested in Arabia, Sudan, and West Asia since antiquity, sub-Saharan acacia gum has a long history as a prized export. 
The gum exported came from the band of acacia trees that once covered much of the Sahel region, the southern littoral of the Sahara Desert that runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. 
Today, the main populations of gum-producing Acacia species are found in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Acacia is tapped for gum by stripping bits off the bark, from which gum then exudes. 
Traditionally harvested by seminomadic desert pastoralists in the course of their transhumance cycle, acacia gum remains a main export of several African nations, including Mauritania, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. 
Total world gum arabic exports are today (2019) estimated at 160,000 tonnes, having recovered from 1987 to 1989 and 2003–2005 crises caused by the destruction of trees by the desert locust.

Gum Arabic: Everything You Need to Know
Gum Arabic, also known as Gum Acacia, is a tree gum exudate that has been an important commercial ingredient since ancient times. 
The Egyptians used it for embalming mummies, and for making paints for hieroglyphic inscriptions. 
However, in recent years, a renewed interest in Gum Arabic has occurred, as more articles are published concerning its structure, properties, and novel applications in food and pharmaceuticals. 

Gum Arabic is a tree exudate that is obtained mainly from the Acacia Senegal or Acacia Seyal species. 
The trees grow widely across the Sahelian belt of Africa, a region of Africa is a 3,860-kilometre arc-like land mass immediately south of the Sahara Desert that stretches east-west from Senegal in the west to Somalia in the east.

Gum Arabic is the resin that oozes from the stems and branches of trees. 
Production of Gum Arabic or Gum Acacia is stimulated by `tapping,’ which involves removing sections of the bark, taking care not to damage the tree. 
The sticky, gummy substance dries on the branches to form hard nodules which are picked by hand and are sorted according to color and size.

Other names: Gum arabic (Acacia senegal) Gum hashab, kordofan gum, Gum arabic (Acacia seyal) Gum talha, Acacia gum, Arabic gum.

Chemical And Molecular Structure Of Gum Arabic
Gum arabic consists mainly of calcium, magnesium and potassium salts which yield arabinose, galactose, rhamnose, and glucuronic acid after hydrolysis. 
Chemical compositions of Gum Arabic may vary slightly with the source, climate, season, and age of the tree. 
Acacia Senegal and Acacia Seyal both contain the same carbohydrate residues.

However, Acacia Seyal gum has lower rhamnose and glucuronic acid contents, and higher arabinose and glucuronic acid contents than the gum derived from Acacia Senegal. The amino acid compositions are similar in both gums, with hydroxyproline and serine being the major constituentz.

Both gums from the Acacia and Acacia Seyal display similar features regarding high-weight molecular mass distributions. 
However, the molecular mass of gum from Acacia Seyal is higher than the gum of Acacia Senegal, with an average molecular mass of 380,000 and 850,000, respectively.

Molecular Weight / Distance Benefit Prebiotics
The adult human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is 9 meters (or 29.5 feet ) from the esophagus to the anus. 
Gum Arabic is important to note that short-chain, low molecular weight monosaccharides and disaccharides are more easily fermented proximally in the gastrointestinal tract than their more resistant and complex, higher molecular weight, oligosaccharide or polysaccharide counterparts. 

While shorter-chain prebiotics can impart benefits, the large, slowly fermented polysaccharides of higher molecular weight have significant advantages over small, rapidly fermented sugars such as lactulose, and other non-digestible oligosaccharides.

These include the ability to be tolerated at higher doses by consumers with reduced risk of side effects such as intestinal discomfort and flatulence caused by excessive gas formation; mucosal damage from rapid acidification; or the laxative effect of too high concentrations of small sugars in the colon. 

Perhaps more importantly, high-molecular weight polysaccharides supply a persistent source of fermentable carbohydrate throughout the length of the colon rather than being completely fermented proximally. 
This fact may be of particular interest in the prevention of certain types of diseases, like colon cancer, as the distal colon and rectum are significant sites of inflammation and disease in humans. 

A Novel Approach to Prebiotic Supplementation
We know that the fermentation of refined, and short-chain carbohydrates and oligosaccharides occur more proximally, whereas the more complex oligosaccharides and polysaccharides can be fermented distally. 
We also know that a highly refined “Western Diet” high in saturated fat while lacking in complex carbohydrates is associated with several metabolic, and autoimmune diseases.

However, what we might not have known is that carbohydrate complexity is also associated with molecular weight and viscosity. 
The lower the molecular weight, the shorter the chains. 
The higher the weight, the higher the number of polymer chains. Further, the more polymer chains, the higher the viscosity. 
In fact, the source of the most complex polysaccharides with the highest molecular weight that are found in the diet are food-grade hydrocolloids.

Food Hydrocolloids And Their Prebiotic Activity
High molecular weight is an attractive feature of commercial hydrocolloids or a substance that forms a gel in the presence of water. 
This group of high viscosity, high-molecular-weight non-digestible complex polysaccharides include pectins, arabinogalactans, beta-glucans, inulin, mucilages, as well as bacterial gums like xanthan gum or gellan gum; tree gums, such as gum arabic, gum tragacanth, and gum ghatti; leguminous gums, such as guar gum and locust bean gum; as well as food-grade, water-soluble seaweed extracts, such as carrageenan, sodium alginate, and agar.

As we know, many complex polysaccharides have prebiotic activity and feed beneficial microorganisms, imparting metabolic benefits to the host. 
However, the question remains: is there any evidence that the food grade hydrocolloids— like Gum Arabic—that confer a thickening and stabilizing component in commercial products, also confer health benefits?

Health Benefits of Gum Arabic or Gum Acacia
While Gum arabic has been investigated extensively for its properties as a hydrocolloid with several food applications, it has also been the subject of more recent investigation for its ability to improve human health. 

Because Gum Arabic can reach the large intestine and resist digestion in the small intestine, it can be categorized as a non-digestible carbohydrate or dietary fiber. 
Gum Arabic can also be categorized as a prebiotic.

In the large intestine, gum Arabic is fermented by bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), particularly propionic acid, as by-products of fermentation that are associated with significant improvements to human health.

Bifidogenic: Fermentation of Gum Arabic has shown to selectively increase the proportions of lactic acid-producing bacteria and bifidobacteria in study subjects. 
Gum Arabic also augments the water content of stools and increases stool output. 
Further, evidence suggests that gum arabic acts as a prebiotic as doses of 10g/day, and can be consumed with at even higher daily doses without any adverse gastrointestinal issues. 

Gum Arabic is known to feed several different strains of indigenous bifidobacterium including B. 
longum, and showed that it could increase Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. 
lactis significantly better than both inulin and glucose. 

Prebiotic: Gum Arabic can selectively raise the proportions of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria in healthy subjects. 
Gum Arabic is fermented slowly, with digestibility around 95%.
Gum Arabic also increases stool output by augmenting the water content of stools.

Gum Arabic is well tolerated at high daily doses and has shown that it can be consumed without any adverse intestinal events. 
Evidence demonstrates that acacia gum acts as a prebiotic at a dose of 10 g/day.

SCFAs:  Other investigations have shown that bacterial fermentation with Gum Arabic produced more SCFAs such as butyrate and propionate in vitro and in vivo than other well-known prebiotics such as pectin, inulin, and alginate. 
This is unequivocal evidence that gum arabic is a non-digestible, prebiotic polysaccharide.

Anti-Diabetic: Other studies found that microbial SCFA production (and viscosity) was significantly increased after the addition of gum arabic to foods, and further suggested that it also reduced postprandial glycemic response having a homeostatic effect on diabetes via increased acetic acid production.
Therefore, the simple addition of gum arabic improved foods metabolically for human use. 

Treatment with Gum Arabic increased urinary Ca2+ excretion and decreased plasma phosphate concentration, plasma urea concentration, urinary flow rate, natriuresis, phosphaturia, glycosuria, proteinuria, as well as blood pressure (BP) in diabetic mice. 
These results suggest that the effect of gum arabic on intestinal glucose transport may be useful in the prophylaxis and treatment of metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes.

Nephroprotective: Gum Arabic increases creatinine clearance, enhances renal excretion of antidiuretic hormones, decreases plasma phosphate concentration, enhances renal secretion of antidiuretic hormone , and is used as a treatment for chronic and end-stage renal disease in Middle Eastern countries.

The effects of Gum Arabic on plasma phosphate concentration, blood pressure, and proteinuria may prove beneficial in chronic renal failure (CRF) and diabetic nephropathy. 
Gum arabic moderately reduces histological and biochemical markers after acute gentamycin nephrotoxicity.  

Gum Arabic may also serve as a treatment for a renal disease as well due to its ability to trap bile salts in conjunction with its relatively high effect on butyrate production which has shown to suppress the production of TGF-beta1 cytokines.

Anti-carcinogenic: Angiogenins are angiogenetic factors upregulated by tumor cells, and are involved in the vascularization and growth of tumors. Angiogenins are upregulated in cancer cells by numerous tissues that include colon, stomach, liver, pancreas, uterus, breast, ovary, prostate, bladder, kidney, and brain.

Angiogenins are also found up-regulated in leukemia, osteosarcoma, lymphoma, melanoma, and Wilms tumor. According to this study, Gum arabic produced a “profound inhibitory effect on angiogenin suppression. “

Anti-Obesigenic: Gum Arabic significantly reduced the BMI and body fat percentage in a two-arm randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of healthy adult females. 
Authors of the study suggest that Gum Arabic should be investigated further as a treatment for obesity. 
However, it was noted that common side effects included preliminary bloating and diarrhea.

Lower Cholesterol: In other studies, Gum Arabic + apple fiber were found to lead to a significant reduction of total serum cholesterol concentration, especially the LDL fractions in men with high cholesterol.

Ulcerative Colitis: Gum arabic may serve as a treatment for ulcerative colitis due to its ability to increase the SCFAs butyrate production and its trophic effects on the gut membrane, as well as its ability to reduce the duration and incidence of diarrhea.

Common Food Applications of Gum Arabic
Here’s a fun fact: When the US imposed sanctions on Sudan over the government’s actions in Darfur in 2000, it stopped all imports except one: Gum arabic. 
The government feared that stopping the imports on gum arabic would have too severe an impact on the US food industry. 
Gum Arabic is one of the most ubiquitous ingredients in consumer products— ranging from Coca-Cola to shoe polish, to pharmaceuticals and confectionaries.

Confectionary Applications: The primary application of gum arabic is in the confectionery industry, used in a variety of products including gums, pastilles, marshmallows, and toffees. 
Traditional wine gums also incorporated gum arabic at high concentrations and added wine for flavor.

Beverages: Gum arabic is stable in acid conditions. 
For this reason, gum arabic is often used as an emulsifier in the production of concentrated flavor oils, such as those found in soft drinks.  
Gum Arabic inhibits the coalescence of oil droplets, keeping emulsions stable for up to a year.

Dietary Fiber Fortification: In regulatory terms, dietary fiber refers to carbohydrate polymers which are neither digested nor absorbed in the small intestine, with polymerization of above three. 
In other words, monosaccharides and disaccharides are inherently excluded from meeting requirements of the definition.
Gum arabic meets the requirements from a scientific point of view and has shown beneficial physiological effects.  
Utilizing gum arabic in place of other ingredients in commercial recipes can help decrease net carbs in products and improve nutritional value.

What Is Gum Arabic?
Gum arabic, also sometimes called acacia gum or acacia powder, is a fibrous product made from the natural hardened sap of two types of wild Acacia trees. 
Around the world, gum arabic goes by many names, including acacia gum, arabic gum, acacia powder, Senegal gum, Indian gum and others.

Acacia senegal (L.), a tree in the Leguminosae (Fabaceae) plant family, is most commonly used to make gum arabic products. 
Vachellia (Acacia) is another species that produces a dried gum from its trunk and branches. 
These trees grow most abundantly in Sudan, where about 50 percent of the world’s gum arabic is now produced, but are also found in other parts of Africa, such as Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.

What’s interesting about acacia trees is that they produce the most gum arabic when they experience “adverse conditions,” such as poor soil, drought or high heat. 
This actually damages the trees to some degree but causes an increase in the production of arabic gum.

What type of organic molecule is gum arabic? 
Gum Arabic is made of a mixture of glycoproteins, a class of proteins that have carbohydrate groups attached to the polypeptide chain, and polysaccharides, a carbohydrate whose molecules consist of a number of sugar molecules bonded together. 
Gum Arabic also includes oligosaccharides, another type of carbohydrate. 
Additionally, gums collected from acacia trees are a source of natural sugar compounds called arabinose and ribose, which were some of the first concentrated sugars to be derived from plants/trees. 
The exact chemical composition of gum arabic varies from product to product, depending on its source and the climate/soil conditions in which it was grown.

Today, there are many industrial and food-related uses for gum arabic. 
For example, gelatin, modified starch, gum arabic and pectin are the main types of gums used in many sugary/confectionery products. 
Arabic gum is used to help stabilize products including:

A wide variety of desserts and baking ingredients
Dairy products like ice cream
Syrups
Hard and soft candies
Ink, paint, watercolors, and photography and printing materials
Ceramics and clay
Stamps and envelopes
Shoe polish
Cosmetics
Firworks
Herbal medicines, pills and lozenges
Emulsions that are applied to the skin

Gum arabic is the gum that is exuded from certain trees, such as the Acacia senegal tree. 
It's a dietary fiber that can dissolve in water.

Gum arabic is used for high cholesterol, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

In manufacturing, gum arabic is used as a pharmaceutical ingredient in medications for throat or stomachinflammation and as a film-forming agent in peel-off skin masks.

What is Acacia Gum? 
Acacia gum is also called gum arabic. 
Gum Arabic is made from the sap of the Acacia senegal tree, or gum acacia. 
Gum Arabic is used medicinally as well as in the production of many items. 
In fact, the many acacia gum uses span numerous professional industries. 
Gum Arabic may even be an important part of everyday health. 
Further acacia arabic information can help you decide if you should include it in your diet. 
Much of the supply of acacia gum comes from the Sudan region, but also from Nigeria, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Chad, Kenya, Eritrea, and Senegal. 
Gum Arabic comes from the thorny Acacia senegal tree where the sap bubbles up to the surface of the branches. 
Workers must brave those thorns to scrape the stuff off the bark as it occurs during the rainy season. 
The sap is dried using the naturally warm temperatures of the region. 
This process is called curing. 
Countless tons of the sap is sent annually to Europe for processing. 
There it is cleaned, dissolved in water, and dried again to create a powder. 
The sap is a cold, water soluble polysaccharide. 
In its gum form, the product thins out as temperature rises. 
These variable forms make it useful in a host of products. 
Historical Gum Arabic Information Gum arabic was first used in Egypt in the mummification process to adhere the bandage wrappings. 
Gum Arabic was even used in cosmetics. 
The substance was used to stabilize paint as early as biblical times. 
During the Stone Age, it was used as a food and an adhesive. 
Ancient Greek writings mention its use to relieve discomfort of blisters, burns, and stop nose bleeds. 
Later periods found artists utilizing it to bind pigments and in ink. 
More modern occurrences found it in glue, as part of textile manufacturing, and in early photographic prints. 
Today’s uses are off the map and gum arabic can be found in most households. 
Acacia Gum Uses Today Acacia gum can be found in soft drinks, canned and frozen foods, snacks, and desserts. 
Gum Arabic is considered a stabilizer, flavor fixer, adhesive, emulsifier, and helps prevent crystallization in sugary foods. 
Gum Arabic is high in fiber and non-fat. 
In non-food use, it is part of paint, glue, cosmetics, carbonless paper, pills, cough drops, porcelain, spark plugs, cement, fireworks and much more. 
Gum Arabic improves textures, makes a flexible film, binds shapes, negatively charges water, absorbs pollutants, and is a nonpolluting binder when on fire. 
Gum Arabic is also used in the health food industry to lower cholesterol, suppress appetite, keep blood sugar regulated, and treat digestive issues.

Overview    
Gum arabic[GA] is a branched-chain, complex polysaccharide, either neutral or slightly acidic, found as a mixed calcium, magnesium and potassium salt of a polysaccharidic acid. 
Its backbone is composed of 1,3-linked b-D-galactopyranosyl units. The side chains are composed of two to five 1,3-linked b-D-galactopyranosyl units, joined to the main chain by 1,6-linkages.

Applications    
GA has wide industrial uses as a stabilizer, thickening agent and emulsifier, mainly in the food industry[e.g. in soft drinks syrup, gummy candies and marshmallows], but also in the textile, pottery, lithography, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.
In folk medicine, GA has been reported to be used internally for the treatment of inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, and externally to cover inflamed surfaces. 
Some recent reports have claimed that GA possesses anti-oxidant, nephroprotectant and other effects.
Clinically, it has been tried in patients with chronic renal failure, and it was claimed that it helps reduce urea and creatinine plasma concentrations and reduces the need for dialysis from 3 to 2 times per week.

Biological and pharmacological effects    

Lipid mechanism
GA increased cholesterol biosynthesis in rats fed a cholesterol-containing diet, but had no effect in rats on a cholesterol-free diet. 
Ross et al. and Sharma reported reductions of total serum cholesterol by 6% and 10.4%, respectively when subjects received 25 g/day and 30 g/day of GA for periods of 21 and 30 days. 
The decrease was confined to LDL and VLDL cholesterol only, with no effect on HDL and triglycerides.

Blood glucose level
Mixtures of different types of gum have been shown to inhibit glucose movement in vitro, and lower postprandial blood glucose and plasma insulin in human subjects when incorporated in a drink containing 50 g glucose.

Gastrointestinal tract
GA can improve small intestinal absorption of water as well as electrolytes. 
Various mechanism have been proposed to account for the proabsorptive effects of GA on intestinal water and electrolytes under normal conditions and more so in conditions of diarrheal illness. 
GA is a soluble fiber with moderate emulsifying properties that may result in greater accessibility of electrolytes and associated water to the microvillous membrane. 
This was probably reflected in the increased lumen-to-serosa water influx noted with GA administration in the chronic osmotic-secretory diarrhea model.

Tooth mineralization
Gum Arabic has been shown, using histopathological methods, that GA has the ability to enhance remineralization, probably by supporting other remineralization activities. 
This supporting role was ascribed to the rich content of Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+ salts of polysaccharides in GA, and to the effect of the gum on the metabolism of Ca2+ and possibly phosphate.

Description    
Acacia gum is an odourless white to yellow-white powder. 
Gum Arabic is soluble in water and incompatible with alcohol and oxidising agents and precipitates. 
Gum Arabic gels on addition of solutions of ferric salts, borax, lead subacetate, alcohol, sodium silicate, gelatin, and ammoniated tincture of guaiac. 
Gum Arabic is non-toxic and non-hazardous. 
Gum Arabic is a water-soluble gum from several species of the acacia tree, especially Acacia senegal and A. 
arabica, and used in the manufacture of adhesives and ink and as a binding medium for marbling colours. 
Gum arabic is also known as gum acacia and is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the Acacia tree – Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. 
Gum arabic is a natural product of the Acacia senegal tree, occurring as an exudate from the trunks and branches. 
Gum Arabic is used primarily in the food industry as a stabiliser but has had more varied uses. 
Gum Arabic is normally collected by hand when dried, when it resembles a hard, amber-like resin normally referred to as ‘tears’. 
Gum arabic is widely used in the food industry as an emulsifier, thickener, and flavouring and thickening agent. 
Gum Arabic is employed as a soothing agent in inflammatory conditions of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary tracts and is useful in diarrhoea and dysentery. 
Gum Arabic exerts a soothing influence upon all the surfaces with which it comes in contact. 
Gum acacia is an ingredient of all the official Trochisci and various syrups, pastes, and pastilles or jujubes. 
During the time of the gum harvest, the Moors of the desert are said to live almost entirely on it, and it has been proved that 6 oz. is sufficient to support an adult for 24 h. Gum acacia is highly nutritious, is a mixture of saccharides and glycoproteins, and provides the properties of a glue and binder suitable for human edibility. 
In many cases of disease, it is considered that a solution of gum arabic may for a time constitute the exclusive drink and food of the patient. 
Gum arabic reduces the surface tension of liquids, which leads to increased fizzing in carbonated drinks.

Chemical Properties    

Acacia gum is a white to yellow-white odorless powder. 
Gum Arabic is soluble in water and incom- patible with alcohol, oxidizing agents, and precipitates or forms jellies on addition of solutions of ferric salts, borax, lead subacetate, alcohol, sodium silicate, gelatin, ammoni- ated tincture of guaiac. 
Gum Arabic is non-toxic and non-hazardous. 
A water-soluble gum from several species of the acacia tree, especially Acacia senegal and A. Arabica , it is used in the manufacture of adhesives and ink, and as a binding medium for marbling colors. 
Gum arabic, also known as gum acacia, chaar gund, or char goond, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree— A. senegal and A. seyal . 
Gum arabic is a natural product of the A. senegal tree, occurring as an exudate from the trunks and branches. 
Gum Arabic is used primarily in the food industry as a stabilizer, but has had more varied uses. 
Gum Arabic is normally collected by hand when dried, when it resembles a hard, amber-like resin normally referred to as “tears.” Gum arabic is widely used in the food industry, as an emulsifi er, thickener, and fl avor enhancer. 
Gum Arabic is employed as a soothing agent in infl ammatory conditions of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary tract, and is useful in diarrhea and dysentery. 
Gum Arabic exerts a soothing infl uence on all the surfaces with which it comes in contact. 
Gum acacia is an ingredient of all the offi cial Trochisci, and various syrups, pastes, and pastilles or jujubes. 
During the time of the gum harvest, the Moors of the desert are said to live almost entirely on it, and it has been proved that 6 oz is suffi cient to support an adult for 24 h. Gum acacia is a mixture of saccharides and glycoproteins, is highly nutritious, and provides the properties of a glue, and a binder suitable for human consumption. 
In many cases of disease, it is considered that a solu- tion of gum arabic may, for a time,constitute the exclusive drink and food of the patient. 
Gum arabic reduces the surface tension of liquids, which leads to increased fi zzing in carbonated drinks.

Uses    
A gum obtained from breaks or wounds in the bark of acacia trees. 
Gum Arabic dissolves in hot or cold water forming clear solutions which can be up to 50% gum acacia. The solubility in water increases with temperature. 
Gum Arabic is used in confectionary glazes to retard or prevent sugar crystallization and acts as an emulsifier to prevent fat from forming an oxidizable, greasy film. 
Gum Arabic functions as a flavor fixative in spray-drying to form a thin film around the flavor particle. 
Gum Arabic also functions as an emulsifier in flavor emulsions, as a cloud agent in beverages, and as a form stabilizer. 
Gum Arabic is also termed acacia.

As mucilage, excipient for tablets, size, emulsifier, thickener, also in candy, other foods; as colloidal stabilizer. In the manufacture of spray-dried "fixed" flavorsstable, powdered flavors used in packaged dry-mix products (puddings, desserts, cake mixes) where flavor stability and long shelf life are important.

acacia (Acacia senegal)(acacia gum; black catechu; gum acacia; gum Arabic) is commonly used in traditional remedies as a soothing and anti-inflammatory agent. 
Gum Arabic is also used as a vegetable gum for product thickening. In extract form, acacia is recommended for dry, sensitive, or delicate skin. 
Acacia is the dried gummy sap from the stems and branches of various species of the African acacia tree. 
Gum Arabic may cause skin rashes in cases of allergy.

Production Methods    
Acacia is the dried gummy exudate obtained from the stems and branches of Acacia senegal (Linné ) Willdenow or other related species of Acacia (Fam. Leguminosae) that grow mainly in the Sudan and Senegal regions of Africa.
The bark of the tree is incised and the exudate allowed to dry on the bark. 
The dried exudate is then collected, processed to remove bark, sand, and other particulate matter, and graded. 
Various acacia grades differing in particle size and other physical properties are thus obtained. 
A spray-dried powder is also commercially available.

Pharmaceutical Applications    
Acacia is mainly used in oral and topical pharmaceutical formulations as a suspending and emulsifying agent, often in combination with tragacanth. 
Gum Arabic is also used in the preparation of pastilles and lozenges, and as a tablet binder, although if used incautiously it can produce tablets with a prolonged disintegration time. 
Acacia has also been evaluated as a bioadhesive; and has been used in novel tablet formulations,and modified release tablets.
Acacia is also used in cosmetics, confectionery, food products, and spray-dried flavors.

IUPAC NAMES
Acacia Senegal Gum
C&L Inventory
acaciadealbata gum
C&L Inventory
ARABIC GUM
C&L Inventory
GUM ARABIC
C&L Inventory
Gum arabic
C&L Inventory
gum arabic

SYNONYMS: 
acaciadealbatagum
acaciasenegal
acaciasyrup
australiangum
gumdragon
gumovaline
gumsenegal
nci-c50748
senegalgum
starsolno.1
starsolno1
wattlegum
Acacia, Total ash <4%
ARABIC GUM INDUSTRIAL GRADE
Acacia Gum (Gum Arabic)
Gum Arabic (Gum Acacia)
Gum Arabic, powder(Acacia)
Acacia gum, Acaciae gummi
Gum arabic from acacia tree, Gum arabic
Acacia, Total ash <
Gumacabic powder
GuM arabic, powder 250GR
Acacia NF
Gum arabic from acacia tree Vetec(TM) reagent grade
Acacia gum, total ash <4%
Gum acacia Arabic gum
GUM ARABIC FROM FROM ACACIA TREE, BR
Acacia gum, for analysis
ArabMa gum powder
Arabia gum powder
runus persica
Gum Arabic Food Grade
cacia senegal、Acacia seyal
ARABIC GUM
FEMA 2001
GUM ACACIA
GUM ARABIC
ACACIA
ACACIAE GUMMI
ACACIA GUM
Acacia,powder；Gum arabic,powder
Gum acacia powder
GUM ARABIC, SPRAY-DRIED
GUM ARABIC, FINE POWDER
ACACIA (GUM ARABIC) POWDER, PURIFIED, PH . EUR., PH. FRANC.
GUM ARABIC, PH EUR
ACACIA, POWDER
GUM ARABIC PHRMACEUTICAL GRADE
Acacia(EnzymeFree)Gr
GumArabicSolution
AcaciaSprayDriedPowder
ACACIA GUAR GR ( Gum Acacia Powder)
gum arabic from acacia tree
ACACIAMELANOXYLON
ACACIAGERRARDII
ACACIA(SEN)SUPERGUM(R)
ACACIATUMIDA
ACACIAERIOPODA