Background: Gum arabic is the dried gum exudate of Acacia Senegal of the Eastern African Kordofan region particularly, and of Western Africa north of river Senegal. The gum has been a very useful, and so significant item in commerce for thousands of years appearing in historical records from antiquity, and still is used in arts, crafts, cosmetics, foods and millions of products ranging from ice cream to adhesives.
Illustrations of Acacia with large mounds of the dried gum were found in archaeological artifacts of the reign of Ramses III of Egypt. As gum of Canaan it was exported from the Gulf of Aden by 1,800 BC. Theophrastus (400-300 BC) described it as Egyptian gum detailing many uses. During the 1st century AD Dioscorides included reference of gum Arabic's.
In carbonated drinks it increases the sparkling feature by reducing liquid surface tension. It is an essential ingredient in food items syrups, gummi candies, marshmallows, chewing gum, and many others. It is the traditional binder in watercolors, is used in stone lithography, photography and printing, as a binder in fireworks, and in adhesives in stamps and cigarette papers.
Description: Incisions made in the tree bark promote the flow of the sap (referred to as gum) to its surface. There it forms thick droplets which are sun-dried. The fragments of this exudate are nearly odorless, translucent white, yellow-white, to pale amber in color. It is powdered for most uses. It is soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol.
Acacia Senegal described by Willdenow, and described in 1830 by Guillemin and Perrotet as Acacia verek, and described in 1735 by Linnaeus as Mimosa Senegal, grows to 20 ft in height. Stems are crooked with grayish bark, it is much branched; Limbs are scattered over or covered with a purplish or yellowish-green bark. Leaves are smooth and bipinnate with a gland between them. The leaflets are oblong-linear, arranged in 8 or 10 pairs. Spines are sharp and in two pairs. Flowers small and yellow are densely crowded on axillary, stalked, globose heads, usually two together. The fruit a smooth compressed moniliform legume is light-brown about 5 in. long, containing about 6 flattish seeds. These trees all delight in dry, sandy situations, and will often be found where other shrubs and trees cannot exist.
