Characteristics and quality of gum arabic derived from naturally grown Acacia seyal Willdenow tree in the lowland areas of Ethiopia
2023
Gemechu Jebeso | Daniel Gebeyehu | Melkamu Abere
Ethiopia's dry lands, particularly the lowlands, have a high potential for commercial production of natural gums such as gum arabic. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate the qualities of these gums for commercial and industrial applications. The present study evaluated the characteristics and quality of gum arabic collected from naturally grown Acacia seyal Willdenow trees. Representative exudate gum samples were collected from three districts: Pawi, Metema, and Filtu. The moisture, ash, pH, nitrogen, crude protein, total soluble fiber, and mineral contents were all determined experimentally. Location significantly affected the result of moisture, ash, nitrogen, crude protein, total soluble fiber, potassium, and magnesium (p ≤ 0.001), copper (p ≤ 0.01) and iron (p ≤ 0.05). There were no differences in calcium's cationic composition. The average moisture content of dried powder gum arabic was 12.36%. The pH ranged from 4.21 to 4.96. The nitrogen and crude protein contents varied between 0.19 - 0.65% and 1.32 - 4.08%, respectively. The analyzed gum arabic had the same defined quality as the same gum arabic reported from Sudan and other exporting countries, and it also matched well in all qualities with defined international standards. It is certainly possible to use Ethiopia's lowland gum arabic for commercial and industrial applications.
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