Acacia gum is the most popular exudate gum largely obtained from Acacia senegal. Similar to other exudate gums, its production from Acacia tree is caused by external stress or injury on the tree bark. It is a complex carbohydrate polymer composed of galactose, arabinose, rhamnose and uronic acid. This gum has mainly been utilized as additive in the form of Acacia gum powder in food products, pharma products, paper, textile industry, cosmetics and adhesive industry. Unique properties of Acacia gum are its emulsifying, stabilizing, thickening, and microencapsulation properties. Gum Acacia shows unique emulsifying property is due to presence of protein in its structure. This gum is beneficial in several health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, renal and colon related problems. Various health functions associated with Acacia gum are hypo-glycaemic, hypo-lipidemic, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, prebiotic etc. Chemistry, properties, food applications and health benefits of Acacia gum have been discussed in this review paper.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949824424000399