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Food Additive Encyclopaedia Sample

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ANZ Number:

414

SYNONYMS:

Gum arabic, gum acacia, arabic gum, acacia gum.

APPROVED ANZ USE:

Thickener, stabiliser.

OTHER USES:

Emulsifier, glazing agent, prevention of sugar crystallisation.

WARNING:

Some people develop hypersensitivity after eating gum arabic (Gelfand, 1949), and asthma and associated sensitivities have been observed after occupational exposure (Brown & Crepea, 1947; Bohner et al., 1941; Sprague, 1942; Fowler, 1952; Cuthbert, 1973) and in kidney transplant patients (Rubinger et al. 1978).

ADI:

Not specified.

FOOD LIST:

Acacia is permitted in any processed food in accordance with GMP. It is also permitted in food for infants at levels up to 10 mg/kg. Typical Australian foods containing acacia include confectionery, biscuits, cachous, yeast, energy drinks and frozen cake mix.

DESCRIPTION:

Dried exudate or gum from Acacia senegal and other African acacias from south of the Sahara desert and also the Middle East. MW 240000-580000. Acacia is a proteinaceous carbohydrate with protein content between 1.5-3% and amino acid composition varying depending on source location. It contains several high MW polysaccharides that on hydrolysis yield the sugars arabinose, galactose, rhamnose and glucuronic acid. Soluble in water.

REVIEWED:

JECFA 1969, 1982, 1990

BIOCHEMISTRY:

Acacia appears to have a caloric value slightly higher than corn starch (Nees, 1965) and at normal dietary levels is almost completely digested (O'Dell et al., 1957; Shue et al., 1962). A number of studies have shown transient or slight effects on liver enzymes in several animal species at high doses (Bachman et al., 1978; Bachman & Zbinden, 1978; Lutz et al., 1978; Anderson et al., 1984) and some apparent decrease in cholesterol absorption and increased cholesterol synthesis (Kelly & Tsai, 1978).

TOXICOLOGY:

There is no definite evidence of increased tumour incidence in mice or rats, and no effect on survival (National Toxicology Program, 1980). Although an increased incidence of chromosomal breaks was demonstrated in rat bone marrow cell culture, other studies have shown no mutagenic effects, and acacia is not considered a mutagen (Newell & Maxwell, 1972; Brusick, 1975; Valencia & Abrahamson). No teratogenic effects have been demonstrated in mice, rats, hamsters or rabbits (Morgareidge, 1972a; Collins et al., 1987). Several short-term studies on various species including man have not shown any toxic effects (National Toxicology Program, 1980; Booth et al., 1949; Booth et al., 1963; Hove & Herndon, 1957; Smalley et al., 1945; Johnson & Newman, 1945). The LD₅₀ is 16-18 mg/kg bw in rats, mice and hamsters, and 8 mg/kg bw in rabbits (Morgareidge, 1972b).

REFERENCES:

Anderson, D.M.W., Ashby, P., Busuttil, B., Kempson, S.A. & Lawson, M.E. (1984).
Transmission electron microscopy of heart and liver tissues from rats fed with gum arabic and tragacanth.
Toxicology Letters 21, 83-89.

Bachman, E. et al. (1978)
Biochemical effects of gum arabic gum, tragacanth, methylcellulose and carboxymethylcellulose in the rat heart and liver.
Pharmacol., 17, 39-49

Bachman, E. & Zbinden, G. (1978)
Biochemical effects of chronically administered suspended agents on mitochondrial metabolism and hepatic mixed function oxidases in rat, mice and hamster.
Arch. Toxicol. Suppl., 1, 183-187

Bohner, C. B., Sheldon, J. M. & Trenis, J. W. (1941)
Sensitivity of gum acacia with a report of ten cases of asthma in printers.
J. Allergy, 12, 290

Booth, A. N., Elvehjem, C. A. & Hart, E. B. (1949)
The importance of bulk in the nutrition of the guinea pig.
J. Nutr., 37, 263

Booth, A. N., Hendrickson, A. P. & De Eds, F. (1963)
Physiologic effects of three microbial polysaccharides on rats.
Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol., 5, 478

Brown, E. B. & Crepea, S. B. (1947)
Allergy (asthma) to ingested gum tragacanth - a case report.
J. Allergy, 18, 214

Brusick, E. (1975)
Mutagenic evaluation of compound FDA 71-15, gum arabic.
Unpublished. Litton Bionetics, Inc. Contract, 32 pp. Contract No. 223-74-2104. Submitted to the World Health Organization by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Collins, T.F.X., Welsh, J.J., Black, T.N., Graham, S.L. & Brown, L.H. (1987).
Study of the teratogenic potential of gum arabic.
Food.Chem.Toxic. 25, 815-821.

Cuthbert, O. D. (1973)
Investigation into an outbreak of rhinitis and asthma in a printing works.
Ann. Occup. Hyg., 16, 203

Fowler, P. B. S. (1952)
Printer's asthma.
Lancet, 2, 755

Gelfand, H. H. (1949)
The vegetable gums by ingestion in the etiology of allergic disorders.
J. Allergy, 20, 311-321

Hove, E. L. & Herndon, F. J. (1957)
Growth of rabbits on purified diets.
J. Nutr., 63, 193

Johnson, J. B. & Newman, L. H. (1945)
Intravenous injection of acacia.
Arch. Intern. Med., 76, 167

Kelly, J. & Tsai, A. (1978)
Effects of pectin, gum arabic and agar on cholesterol absorption, synthesis and turnover in rats.
J. Nutr., 108, 630-639

Lutz, W. K., Braudle, E. & Zbinden, G. (1978)
Effect of gum arabic on aminopyrine demethylation in rats.
Experientia, 34, 1609-1610

Morgareidge, K. (1972a)
Acute toxicity studies on gum arabic.
Unpublished. Food and Drug Research Laboratories, Inc. Contract No. FDA 71-260. Submitted to the World Health Organization by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Morgareidge, K. (1972b)
Teratologic evaluation of FDA 71-15 (gum arabic).
Unpublished. Food and Drug Research Laboratories, Inc. Contract No. FDA 71-260. Submitted to the World Health Organization by the US Food and Drug Administration.

National Toxicology Program (1980)
Carcinogenesis bioassay of gum arabic.
Unpublished. National Toxicology Program, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, pp. 134. Submitted to the World Health Organization by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Nees, P. W. (1965)
Hallmark pure gum arabic No. 1 U.S.P. - evaluation of caloric content.
Unpublished. In: Wisconsin Alumni Foundation, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 3, (Assay Report No. 4121036. Submitted to the World Health Organization by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Newell, G. W. & Maxwell, W. A. (1972)
Study of mutagenic effects of gum arabic.
Unpublished. Standard Research Institute, pp. 31. Contract No. FDA 71-267. Submitted to the World Health Organization by the US Food and Drug Administration.

O'Dell, B. L. et al. (1957)
Diet composition and mineral balance in guinea pigs.
J. Nutr., 63, 65

Rubinger, D., Friedlander, M. & Superstine, E. (1978)
Hypersensitivity to tablet additives transplant recipients on prednisone.
Lancet, 2, 689

Shue, G. M., Douglass, C. D. & Friedman, L. (1962)
Nutritional studies of complex carbohydrates.
Fed. Proc., 21(2), 91

Smalley, R. E. et al. (1945)
Effect of intravenously administered solution of acacia on animals.
Arch. Intern. Med., 76, 39

Sprague, P. H. (1942)
Bronchial asthma due to sensitivity to gum acacia.
Canad. Med. Ass. J., 47, 253

Valencia, R. & Abrahamson, S. (undated)
Drosophila sex-linked recessive lethal test on gum arabic.
Unpublished. Contract No. FDA 223-77-2119, pp. 4. Dept. of Zoology, University of Wisconsin. Submitted to the World Health Organization by the US Food and Drug Administration