Gum arabic

Gum arabic, also known as acacia gum, or meska, is a natural gum. It is made of hardened sap from two species of acacia tree; Senegalia (Acacia) senegal and Vachellia (Acacia) seyal. The gum is got from wild trees throughout the Sahel from Senegal to Somalia. In the past it has also been cultivated in Arabia and west Asia.^[1]

Gum arabic is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides. It was historically the source of the sugars arabinose and ribose, both of which were first discovered and isolated from it.

1. ↑ Webb, James L.A. 2009. The trade in gum arabic: prelude to French conquest in Senegal. The Journal of African History 26 (2–3): 149 [1].