Gum arabic is widely used in the food and beverage industries for its emulsifying, stabilizing, and prebiotic effects, which promote Bifidobacterium g…

Acacia gum is the most popular exudate gum largely obtained from Acacia senegal. Similar to other exudate gums, its production from Acacia tree is cau…

Objective: This study aims to determine the efficacy of the Acacia arabica (Lam.) Willd. and Cinnamomum camphora

Commercial acacia gum (AG) used in this study is a premium-grade free-flowing powder. It is a gummy exudate composed of arabinogalactan branched polysaccharide, a biopolymer of arabinose and galactose. Also known as food additive, acacia gum (E414), which is presently marketed as a functional dietary fiber to improve overall human gut health. The health effects may be related to the luminal pH regulation from the short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) production. Studies suggested that amylolytic and butyrogenic pathways are the major factors determining the SCFA outcome of AG in the lower gut. However, the primary bacteria involved in the fermentation have not been studied. This study aimed to investigate the putative primary degraders of acacia gum in the gut ecosystem. Isolation and identification of gum-fermenting bacteria were performed through enrichment culture fermentation. The experiment was conducted in an anaerobic chamber for 144 h in three stages. The study was conducted in triplicate using an anaerobic chamber system. This culture system allows specific responses to support only bacteria that are responsible for gum fermentation among the gut microbiota. Five bacterial strains were isolated and found to be gum-fermenting bacteria. Based on the 16s RNA sequence, the isolates matched to butyrate-producing Escherichia fergusonii, ATCC 35469.

This study aimed to investigate the potential benefits Gum Arabic/Acacia Senegal (GA) in mitigating the harmful effects of cisplatin (CP) on spermatog…

The use of ionizing radiation exposure increases oxidative stress especially for cancer patients. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop antioxidants that prevent oxidative stress damage. Arabic gum is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mediator. The function of Arabic gum (Acacia arabica) in protecting against injury to the liver tissue caused by 5 Gy whole-body γ-irradiation was studied using histopathological and ultrastructure techniques.Materials and Methods: Forty-eight male albino Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into four groups: control (C), irradiated (R): rats were exposed to 5 Gy gamma-radiation as a single dose for 10 min., Arabic gum (AG) : rats were treated orally with 25 mg/kg/day AG for 3 weeks and AG + R. Experimental rats were treated orally with 25 mg/kg/day AG for one week before, and three weeks after irradiation, and were sacrificed after 7 and 21 days of irradiation. Results: Gamma radiation was observed to affect the histopathology and ultrastructure of liver tissues, such as distorting the central vein with a highly dilated and delaminated endothelial lining, lymphocytic infiltration, many vacuolated hepatocytes with increased signs of karyolysis and pyknosis in hepatocytes nuclei, faint electron outer and inner membranes of mitochondria and increases in collagen fibers. On the other hand, treatment with AG ameliorated all of the previous histological and ultrastructure changes. Arabic gum showed a radio-protective effect and improved liver structure indicating that pre-treatment with Arabic gum is effective in lowering the incidence of the hepatic histopathological changes induced by gamma-radiation with remarkable restoration of normal hepatocytes structure.

Inflammation and oxidative stress are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease in humans, and in chronic renal failure (CRF) in rats. The aim of this work was to study the role of inflammation and oxidative stress in adenine-induced CRF and the effect thereon of the purport …

Lipid emulsification is a technique that is being explored for improving the bioavailability of omega 3 (n-3) long chain (LC) fatty acid (FA). The nature of the emulsifiers can differently impact the lipid bioavailability via a modification of the lipolysis step. Among natural emulsifiers, gum acacia (GA), an indigestible polysaccharide, provides protective encapsulation of n-3 by forming a specifically crown-like shape around lipid drops, which could also impact the digestion step. Despite the interest in lipolysis rate, the impact of GA on lipid bioavailability has never been explored in a complete physiological context. Thus, we followed in a kinetics study the n-3 bioavailability in rat lymph, orally administered DHA-rich oil, formulated based on GA compared to the bulk phase form of the oil. The AUC values were significantly improved by +121% for total TG and by 321% for n-3 PUFA, specifically for EPA (+244%) and for DHA (+345%). Benefits of GA have also been related to the transport of FA in lymph, which was 2 h earlier (Tmax = 4 h), compared to the Tmax (6 h) obtained with the bulk phase oil. All the data showed that GA is one of the most favorable candidates of natural emulsifiers to improve n-3 bioavailability and their rate of absorption for health targets.

This double-blind, controlled, randomized, three-way cross-over study evaluates the effect of 40 g (D1 group) and 20 g (D2 group) of acacia gum (AG) versus no treatment (NT group) on post-prandial glucose (PPG) levels in normal-weight and overweight subjects. Additionally, post-prandial insulin (PPI) levels as well as the safety and tolerability of gum acacia were assessed. 35 healthy subjects aged 25 - 60 years, body mass index 18.5 kg/m2 - 29.9 kg/m2, received one treatment of 20 g, 40 g, or 0 g of AG each. Glucose and insulin values were determined at -15 min and prior to the intake (time “0”) as well as 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 120, and 180 min after the “0 min” blood draw. The mean PPG levels were lower (34% in D1 group, p = 0.003; 35% in D2 group, p = 0.005) than in the NT group. PPI concentration was statistically significantly lower at all time points except baseline in both treatment groups compared to NT groups. Global benefit and tolerability were rated as “very good” or “good” by 100% of subjects in the treatment groups. This study provides robust evidence of the significant benefits of AG consumption on PPG and PPI levels in healthy subjects. Moreover, very good tolerability was demonstrated.

Acacia seyal is an important source of gum Arabic. The availability, traditional, medicinal, pharmaceutical, nutritional, and cosmetic applications of gum acacia have pronounced its high economic value and attracted global attention. In addition to summarizing the inventions/patents applications related to gum A. seyal, the present review highlights recent updates regarding its phytoconstituents. Traditional, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and medicinal uses with the possible mechanism of actions have been also reviewed. The patent search revealed the identification of 30 patents/patent applications of A. seyal. The first patent related to A. seyal was published in 1892, which was related to its use in the prophylaxis/treatment of kidney and bladder affections. The use of A. seyal to treat cancer and osteoporosis has also been patented. Some inventions provided compositions and formulations containing A. seyal or its ingredients for pharmaceutical and medical applications. The inventions related to agricultural applications, food industry, cosmetics, quality control of gum Arabic, and isolation of some chemical constituents (L-rhamnose and arabinose) from A. seyal have also been summarized. The identification of only 30 patents/patent applications from 1892 to 15 November 2021 indicates a steadily growing interest and encourages developing more inventions related to A. seyal. The authors recommend exploring these opportunities for the benefit of society.

Scientific Reports -

Acacia gum (AG) is a branched-polysaccharide gummy exudate that consists of arabinose and galactose. The traditional practice in African-Middle Eastern countries uses this gum as medicine. Traditional use of AG is to treat stomach disease, which can be a potential functional food. In this research, commercially available AG from Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal was investigated as the prebiotic. The experiment employed a pH-controlled in vitro colon model inoculated with human fecal microbiota to mimic the human colon. Fermentation samples at 0, 6, 12, and 24 h were brought for short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography and bacterial enumeration via fluorescent in situ hybridization. Results showed that AG significantly promotes Bifidobacteria proliferation similar to fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) while inhibiting the Clostridium histolyticum group, commonly associated with gut dysbiosis. Acetate, propionate, and butyrate showed a similar trend to FOS (p > 0.05). The AG shows potential against gut dysbiosis, as it promotes gut-probiotics, through modulation of microbial population and SCFA production, especially butyrate.

Background. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited haemolytic anemia with a variable course and severity. Knowledge of prognostic biomarkers may help in the establishment of therapeutic intervention, management, and follow-up of patients. There have been scattered reports of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and increased triglyceride (TG) in SCD patients. In addition, TG levels have been suggested to be elevated in patients with increased endothelial activation. An increased TG level has been associated with haemolysis, vascular dysfunction, and increased prevalence of pulmonary hypertension. Gum Arabic (GA) is an edible, dried, gummy exudate from the acacia Senegal tree. Several studies on GA ingestion have shown reduced plasma cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) concentrations in both animals and humans. We investigated GA’s therapeutic potential to modulate serum lipids in patients with sickle cell anemia. Methods. This study recruited and documented secondary outcomes in 47 patients (aged 5–42 years) carrying hemoglobin SS. The patients received 30 g/day of GA for 12 weeks. Total cholesterol, TG, LDL, and HDL were measured before and after GA intake. Cobas C311 (Roche, Germany) automated chemistry analyser was used for direct determination of the values of the lipid profile. Results. GA significantly decreased total cholesterol (TC), TG, and LDL (p = 0.006, 0.04, and 0.02, resp.). GA showed no effect on HDL level. Baseline serum TG and LDL correlated significantly with the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) level, which is known as an oxidative stress marker (p = 0.003 and 0.04, resp.). None of the lipid profile elements correlated with age. Conclusion. Our results revealed that dyslipidemia in sickle cell patients is associated with oxidative stress but not associated with age. The findings showed that GA significantly decreased TC, LDL, and TG levels, revealing a novel effect of GA, which is considered a natural dietary fibre that can modulate lipid profile in patients with sickle cell anemia. Trial Registration. This retrospective trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02467257 on 3 June, 2015.

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