Gum arabic, a natural gum also called gum acacia, is a substance that is taken from two sub-Saharan species of the acacia tree, Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. It is used primarily in the food industry as a stabilizer, but has had more varied uses in the past, including viscosity control in inks. Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing large viscosity increase of a solution in even a small concentration. ... Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa south of the Sahara Desert, is the term used to describe those countries of Africa that are not part of North Africa. ... Species About 1,300; see List of Acacia species Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees of Gondwanian origin belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the Pea Family Fabaceae, first described from Africa by Linnaeus in 1773. ... Binomial name Acacia senegal (L.) Acacia senegal is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to semi-desert regions of Subsaharan Africa as well as Oman, Pakistan, and northwestern India. ... The food industry is the complex, global collective of diverse businesses that together supply most of calories consumed by the human population. ... The tail of a Lufthansa airliner (Airbus A319) in flight, showing the horizontal and vertical stabilizer Mathematics: see Group action. ... The pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland. ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for colouring a surface to render an image or text. ...

The gum produced by the trees in question reseals the plant's bark in the event of damage -- a process called gummosis. Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing large viscosity increase of a solution in even a small concentration. ... BARK (Binär Automatisk ReläKalkylator) was completed in February 1950 at a cost of 400. ... Gummosis is the formation of patches of a gummy substance on the surface of certain plants, particularly fruit trees. ...

Gum arabic is a complex mixture of saccharides and glycoproteins, which gives it one of its most useful properties: it is perfectly edible. Other substances have replaced it in situations where toxicity is not an issue, as the proportions of the various chemicals in gum arabic varies widely and make its reliable performance troublesome. Still, it remains an important ingredient in soft drink syrups, "hard" gummy candies like gumdrops, and in marshmallows. For artists it is the traditional binder used in watercolor paint. Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics also use the gum, and it is used as a binder in pyrotechnic compositions. It is an important ingredient in shoe polish. It is also used often as a lickable adhesive in cigarette papers. an essential structural component of living cells and source of energy for animals; includes simple sugars with small molecules as well as macromolecular substances; are classified according to the number of monosaccharide groups they contain. ... A glycoprotein is a macromolecule composed of a protein and a carbohydrate (a sugar). ... A soft drink is a drink that contains no alcohol. ... In cooking, a syrup (from Arabic شراب sharab, beverage, via Latin siropus) is a thick, viscous liquid, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars, but showing little tendency to deposit crystals. ... Gumdrops are a type of candy. ... Pink marshmallows. ... Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ... Closeup of a womans eye while wearing makeup Cosmetics or makeup are substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning. ... The reaper-binder or binder was a farm implement that improved upon the reaper. ... The word pyrotechnic (literally meaning fire technology) refers to any chemical explosive device, but especially fireworks. ... An open can of Kiwi shoe polish with a side-mounted opening mechanism visible at the top. ... An adhesive is a compound that adheres or bonds two items together. ... Rolling papers are small sheets or leaves of paper which are sold for rolling ones own cigarettes either by hand or with a rolling machine. ...

The substance is grown commercially throughout the Sahel from Senegal to Sudan. The location of Sahel in Africa The Sahel (from Arabic ساحل, sahil, shore, border or coast of the Sahara desert) is the boundary zone in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the more fertile region to the south, known as the Sudan (not to be confused with the country...

Terrorist rumors

Oddly, the connection between Sudan and Osama bin Laden brought the otherwise undistinguished gum to public consciousness in 2001, as an urban legend arose that bin Laden owned a significant fraction of the gum arabic production in Sudan, and that therefore one should boycott products using it. As a result some food producers, for instance Snapple, renamed the ingredient "gum acacia" on their labels. Osama bin Laden in a photo from the 1990s Usāmah bin Muhammad bin `Awad bin Lādin (born March 10, 1957; Arabic: ), commonly known as Osama bin Laden, or Usama bin Laden, (Arabic: ), a follower of the Wahhabi school of thought and the founder of the militant organization al... Urban legends are a kind of folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them (see rumor). ... A boycott is a refusal to buy, sell, or otherwise trade with an individual or business who is generally believed by the participants in the boycott to be doing something morally wrong. ... Cactus Iced Tea Snapple label, a flavor of Snapple that has been retired Snapple is the company based in Rye Brook, New York that produces a variety of beverages which are sold in glass bottles, soda-style cans, and plastic bottles. ...

This story took on somewhat significant proportions, mostly thanks to an article in The Daily Telegraph a few days after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, which echoed this claim. Eventually the US State Department issued a release stating that while Osama bin Laden had once had considerable holdings in Sudanese gum arabic production, he divested himself of these when he was expelled from Sudan in 1996. This article concerns the British newspaper. ... The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Witchcraft

Gum arabic is also used in witchcraft as a harder-wearing alternative to chalk in protective circles, and as an incense. The term witchcraft (and witch) is a controversial one with a complicated history. ...

External links

• http://www.sbu.ac.uk/water/hyarabic.html