Although gum Arabic is currently produced all over the African Sahel, this remains to be harvested and used in the Middle East. As a good example, the Arab populations are using the natural gum for preparing a sweetened, flavored and chilled gelato-like dessert. 
Gum Arabic has been defined by 31st Codex Committee for Food Additives that was held in March 19 to 23, 1999 at the Hague, Holland as dried exudates from branches and trunks of Vachellia seyal or acacia Senegal in the Leguminosae family. 

Composition
The arabinogalactan is a type of biopolymer that consists of galactose and arabinose monosaccharides. This is a primary component of most plant gums that include gum Arabic. The 8-5' Non cyclic diferulic acid is identified as covalently associated to the carbohydrate moieties of arabinogalactan-protein fraction. 
Gum Arabic can be used for reducing the surface tension of the liquids that can lead to more amounts of foaming as in the case of carbonated beverages. It is best exploited in the famous Mentos and Diet Coke eruption. 

The Production
Although gum Arabic has been harvested in Sudan, West Asia and Arabia since time immemorial, the sub-Saharan acacia gum actually has a long history as a form of prized export. The exported gum came from the band of the acacia trees that use to cover a large part of Sahel region, Sahara Desert’s southern littoral which runs from the Atlantic to Red Sea. 
These days, most of the populations of the acacia species that produce gum are being harvested in Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and others, Acacia Senegal is being tapped for gum through cutting holes in the tree bark, where a product known as Senegal gum or kordofan is exuded.

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