THE USE OF GEL ELECTROPHORESIS AND IMMUNOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES IN THE ANALYSIS OF GUM ARABIC

Abstract

Gum arabic, also known as acacia gum, is an abundant natural product that has been used throughout history. It has been extensively used in the manufacture of eastern and western inks, watercolors and gouache as a binder, and in historic photographic processes such as gum bichromate prints. Much research has been done on the analysis of acacia gums yet the main obstacle to their characterization has been the absence of an efficient separation technique. The most widely used technique has been size exclusion/gel filtration chromatography (SEC/GFC); however, even GFC has not provided adequate separation of the gum components. In addition to a brief overview of acacia gums, this presentation reviews the development of a new gel electrophoretic method for the separation and detection of the polysaccharides, glycoproteins and proteins that constitute acacia gums, and the use of specific antibodies to identify acacia gums at the species level.