Arabic gum is formed from the sap of acacia trees which are from Sudan and throughout Africa. Harvested since antiquity, Sudan is now the largest producer of Arabic gum followed by Chad and Nigeria.
A natural thickening agent, emulsifier and binder that helps hold ingredients together, it is also used to stabilise certain products.
The type of products that Arabic gum is used in are:
- Desserts and baking ingredients
- Dairy products such as ice cream
- Syrups and soft drinks
- Hard and soft candies
- Ink, paint, watercolours, photography and printing materials
- Ceramics and clay
- Stamps and envelopes
- Shoe polish
- Cosmetics
- Fireworks
- Herbal medicines, pills and lozenges
- Emulsions that are applied to the skin
It is most popular in unhealthy sweet foods that you would only want to consume in small amounts. Arabic gum also has medicinal uses which help to treat constipation and dysentery, diarrhoea, diabetes, prolonged bleeding, scurvy, tuberculosis, ulcers and smallpox.
