It is a gum from the stems and branches of Acacia Senegal L. Willd or Acacia (Family Leguminosae).
Gum production is encouraged by making a transverse incision in the bark of the trunk and peeling off a thin strip of bark.
Among the different gums from Acacia species, only gum arabic is approved for food use in most countries.
Gum arabic is used as a stabilizer in beverages and emulsion. Fish emulsions are required a dietary supplements or in health foods; they are also emulsified with gum arabic.
Gum arabic is also used as an encapsulating agent for flavors used in dry foods, such as soups, beverages, dessert mixes, etc.
In soft drinks it allows a long shelf life and for a dried product it gives good content to shell ratios and a clean flavour.
Gum arabic preparations are mixtures of highly branched, branch-on-branch, acidic polysaccharides, the composition of which varies with species, season and climate.
Gum arabic is a neutral or slightly acid slat of a complex polysaccharide containing calcium, magnesium and potassium.
The gum is a complex and variable structure of arabinogalactan oligosaccharides also containing glucuronic acid and rhamnnose units and a small amount of glycoproteins.
It is practically colorless, odorless and tasteless and imparts mouthfeel without gumminess.
Gum arabic in food
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