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Research Paper | Chemical Sciences | Saudi Arabia | Volume 6 Issue 3, March 2017

Estimation of the Active Components in Gum Arabic Collected from Western Sudan

Ardelshifa Mohammed Elhassan Mohammed

Abstract: Gum Arabic is a natural product from the trees of Acacia Senegal. Because the gum Arabic comes from natural sources, the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of this material may vary and contribute to primer malfunctions. Gum Arabic (GA) or Acacia gum is an edible biopolymer obtained as exudates of mature trees of Acacia Senegal and Acacia seyal which grow principally in the African region of sample in Sudan. The exudate is a non-viscous liquid, rich in soluble fibers, and its emanation from the stems and branches usually occurs under stress conditions such as drought, poor soil fertility, and injury. The important uses of GA date back to the second millennium BC when the Egyptians used it as an adhesive and ink. Throughout the time, GA found its way to Europe and it started to be called gum Arabic because was exported from Arabian ports. Chemically, GA is a complex mixture of macromolecules of different size and composition (mainly carbohydrates and proteins). Today, the properties and features of GA have been widely explored and developed and it is being used in a wide range of industrial sectors such as textiles, ceramics, lithography, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, encapsulation, food, etc. Regarding food industry, it is used as a stabilizer, a thickener and/or an emulsifier agent (e. g. , soft drink syrup, gummy candies and creams). In the pharmaceutical industry, GA is used in pharmaceutical preparation, as an antimicrobial activity (AMA), and as a carrier of drugs since it is considered a physiologically harmless substance. Additionally, recent studies have highlighted GA antioxidant properties, its role in the metabolism of lipids, its positive results when being used in treatments for several degenerative diseases such as kidney failure, cardiovascular. Therefore, there is substantial evidence that GA can play a positive health-related role in addition to its well-known properties as an emulsifier. Therefore, the aim of this study to describe general aspects of the source, composition, and properties of (GA). A study was done to determine the influence of Acacia Senegal quality of gum Arabic. gum Arabic samples were collected, dried and analyzed to establish their chemical characteristics. A number of physicochemical methods were used to characterize Acacia Senegal, which the major constituent of the two varieties of Acacia gums which forms gum Arabic, from Sudan origin. Physical and chemical properties such as moisture, ash, intrinsic viscosity, specific rotation, nitrogen and protein percent, acid equivalent weight, total glucuronic acid, and total cationic composition were determined. The average values of moisture and ash percent of A. The gum is yet to be commercially exploited as the physicochemical properties of this gum are yet to be characterized. Various physicochemical methods, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FITR) were employed to characterize this gum in the present study. SEM analysis suggested that the native gum has irregular particle size. In this study to a general discussion of the structure and composition of gum arabic is given. A series of investigations on the scan electron microscopy (SEM), Infra-red (IR) and in a samples of gum arabic and of mixtures of the main components of gum arabic, to simulate the natural material, are reported. The SEM of the Senegal gum indicated a complete amorphous nature. Elemental analysis of the gum revealed specific contents of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur. The major functional groups identified from FTIR spectrum shown in Figure ( 8) illustrated the functional group in senegal gum. The major functional groups identified from FT-IR spectrum include 3400 cm-1 (-OH), (N-H) 1609.79 cm-1 (-COO-), 1422.98 cm-1 (-COO-) and 2927.48 cm-1 (-CH3CO). Analysis of gum by high pure liquid chromatography (HPLC) indicated the presence of sugars. Four fractions of gum sample were obtained by solvent fractionation using absolute ethanol. The fractions were found to have varying amounts of protein ( component) and different values of intrinsic viscosity and specific rotation suggesting some variation in the molecular structure after fractionation. These results of Senegal gum (gum arabic) makes focus exudate gum highly recommendable for use in food and pharmaceutical industries. Used the Atomic absorption to determine the elements. It was found that Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe and Cu Were major elements present in sample. The results of this work may be related to studies on food irradiation and could help to asses effects of radiations and thermal treatment on gum Arabic used in food manufacture and drugs.

Keywords: Gum Acacia Senegal, chemical properties, SEM, physicochemical, FT-IR, AA, HPLC, gum structure and quality

Edition: Volume 6 Issue 3, March 2017,

Pages: 1262 - 1282

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