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Gums are polysaccharide compounds having many medicinal and food uses. The tapping and extraction of gum was carried out with the trees of desired diameter at different tapping height from ground level. 4-7 cm wise cut treated with different concentration of H2SO4. After collection and purification of the gum, the different quality parameters and their optimum value in the gum sample were determined such as moisture content 15.31 %, wb, ash content 1.89 %, volatile matter content 65.78 %, pH 4.44, protein content 16.54 mg/g, tannin content 0.0032 mg/g, methoxyl content 1.37 %, major elemental contents in ppm like copper 67.02, ferrous 1247.90, manganese 95.39 and zinc 94.97 when tree diameter was more than 20 cm and tapping height either more than 80 cm or less than 40cm from ground level. Treating the tapped portion with different concentration of H2SO4 did not show significant effect.

Keywords: Acacia gum, purification, quality parameters, elemental content

Acacia gum is a dried gummy exudate that collects on the surfaces of the branches and the stems of the Acacia trees, in the form of round or oval tears, about the size of a pigeon's egg but sometimes in vermicular forms, which is collected and purified and then marketed. There are many kinds of Acacia gum in commerce. All the gum yielding Acacias exhibits the same general appearance and differing only in technical characters. After rainy season, the gum exudes spontaneously from the trunk and principal branches. Since the flow is small in quantity it is stimulated by incisions in the bark. To facilitate the flow, a thin strip 60 to 90 cm in length and 2.50 to 7.50 cm wide is torn off. In about a fortnight it thickens and hardens on exposure to the air, in the form of round or oval tears (Orwa et al., 2009). Gum Acacia is highly nutritive. It has been proved that about 7-9 g of the gum is sufficient to support an adult for a day (Anonymous, 1998). In the Indian subcontinent, it furnishes the prime important ingredient of the nourishing food used for lactating mothers especially during the first three months of postnatal period. It is used as a binding agent in the preparation of lozenges, pastilles and compressed tablets (Anonymous,...

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