The Tree House Forest Product Information Sheet

No.84 GUM ARABIC

COMMON NAME: GUM ARABIC, ACACIA GUM, GUM SENEGAL

GENUS & SPECIES: Acacia senegal

FAMILY: LEGUMINOSAE

FAMILY RELATIONS: LOCUST BEAN, PEAS

GENERAL: Gum Arabic is obtained from several species of acacia but by far the most commercially important is Acacia senegal. It is native to North Africa and probably Arabia and India where it is very common. It is not a large tree, rarely exceeding 10m in height. It has a short trunk covered in grey bark and smooth pale green leaves. The spiky flowers are yellow and white in colour.

ECOLOGY: The gum arabic tree is most at home in dry savannah conditions.

CULINARY USES: Although gum arabic is used extensively in non-food items it is in fact highly nutritious as a basic gruel. It is also used in many commercial food preparations.

MEDICINAL & OTHER USES: The gum exudes naturally from the trunk but for commercial purposes the tree is wounded and the dried gum is collected some time later. Gum arabic makes an excellent mucilage when mixed with water and is soothing to inflamed tissue. It is used to make lozenges, cough mixtures and emulsions. It makes a useful base for a face pack and prevents the mask from slipping from your face into your lap. Due to its equal osmotic pressure as blood and its same colloidal content it is used to maintain blood pressure and is used as a surgical glue in minor nerve grafts. Gum arabic was vital in the invention of lithographic printing in 1768 and is still used in printing today as a desensitising agent in printing. It is also used to manufacture smudge proof watercolour paint and in Africa its root fibres are even used to make rope and fishing nets. In fact there is almost no end to its uses.