ACACIA
Acacia Gum
Gum Arabic



Photographer: Doug Maguire, Oregon State University
The image is of a five year old Gum Arabic plantation
in Pakistan ready for harvest.

USE
Some uses of Gum Arabic are in sweeteners and as a food,
beverage and drink additive, a liquid or drink thickener,
in cake and pastry preparation, and in food flavorings.

Gum Arabic is used to manufacture pharmaceutical capsules,
to coat pills, and it is used to manufacture vitamins, lotions,
mascara, cake makeup, and so on.

Gum Arabic is also a valuable addition
to sweets, including chocolates, jujubes, and cookies.

Gum Arabic is used as an emulsifier, it is
water soluble, and a completely safe, natural product.

In the past, food manufacturers used Gum Arabic
as a traditional carrier for spray dried flavor applications.
Due to factors such as fluctuations in overseas raw
material and increased usage of modified starches,
Gum Arabic's use in the food industry has dwindled.

Gum Arabic has a wide range of applications,
from cosmetics to paper coating and sizing,
but it is probably best known as an ingredient
in confectionery; it renders the product soft, but firm,
long lastin in the mouth and gives it a clean
tasting, non sticky ‘chewiness.’

Wherever film-forming and emulsifying properties
are needed - without affecting taste or viscosity
- Gum Arabic is ideal.

Top-quality Gum Arabic is colorless,
although an average sample is a pale straw colour.

Completely soluble in cold water, it is regarded
as 95% 'soluble fibre' by nutritional experts.

It is generally defined as a polysaccharide dietary fibre
with few calories, and studies have shown that it can
help reduce cholesterol levels.

acacia arabica
acacia abyssinica
acacia catechu
acacia glaucophylla
acacia gummifera
acacia nilotica
acacia senegal