Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and Applications

Gum Arabic (GA), or acacia gum, refers to the dried exudate produced by certain Acacia trees. GA is composed mainly of a mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins, with proportions that can slightly differ from one species to another. It is commonly utilized in the food and pharmaceutical industr...

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Main Authors: Shaymaa A. Mohamed, Asmaa M. Elsherbini, Heba R. Alrefaey, Kareem Adelrahman, Alshaimaa Moustafa, Nishal M. Egodawaththa, Kaitlyn E. Crawford, Nasri Nesnas, Sally A. Sabra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/4/290
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author Shaymaa A. Mohamed
Asmaa M. Elsherbini
Heba R. Alrefaey
Kareem Adelrahman
Alshaimaa Moustafa
Nishal M. Egodawaththa
Kaitlyn E. Crawford
Nasri Nesnas
Sally A. Sabra
author_facet Shaymaa A. Mohamed
Asmaa M. Elsherbini
Heba R. Alrefaey
Kareem Adelrahman
Alshaimaa Moustafa
Nishal M. Egodawaththa
Kaitlyn E. Crawford
Nasri Nesnas
Sally A. Sabra
author_sort Shaymaa A. Mohamed
collection DOAJ
description Gum Arabic (GA), or acacia gum, refers to the dried exudate produced by certain Acacia trees. GA is composed mainly of a mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins, with proportions that can slightly differ from one species to another. It is commonly utilized in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a stabilizer or an emulsifier owing to its biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, and antibacterial properties. In addition, GA can be manipulated as it possesses many functional groups that can be used in grafting, cross-linking, or chemical modifications to add a new feature to the developed material. In this review, we highlight recent GA-based formulations, including nanoparticles, hydrogels, nanofibers, membranes, or scaffolds, and their possible applications in tissue regeneration, cancer therapy, wound healing, biosensing, bioimaging, food packaging, and antimicrobial and antifouling membranes.
format Article
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issn 2079-4991
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Nanomaterials
spelling doaj-art-09aecbe57f7a44f790f2e690653452f82025-08-20T02:44:43ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-02-0115429010.3390/nano15040290Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and ApplicationsShaymaa A. Mohamed0Asmaa M. Elsherbini1Heba R. Alrefaey2Kareem Adelrahman3Alshaimaa Moustafa4Nishal M. Egodawaththa5Kaitlyn E. Crawford6Nasri Nesnas7Sally A. Sabra8Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21526, EgyptDepartment of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21526, EgyptDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USADepartment of Materials Science, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21526, EgyptDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USADepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USADepartment of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21526, EgyptGum Arabic (GA), or acacia gum, refers to the dried exudate produced by certain Acacia trees. GA is composed mainly of a mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins, with proportions that can slightly differ from one species to another. It is commonly utilized in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a stabilizer or an emulsifier owing to its biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, and antibacterial properties. In addition, GA can be manipulated as it possesses many functional groups that can be used in grafting, cross-linking, or chemical modifications to add a new feature to the developed material. In this review, we highlight recent GA-based formulations, including nanoparticles, hydrogels, nanofibers, membranes, or scaffolds, and their possible applications in tissue regeneration, cancer therapy, wound healing, biosensing, bioimaging, food packaging, and antimicrobial and antifouling membranes.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/4/290Gum Arabicnanoparticleshydrogelsnanofibersmembranesscaffolds
spellingShingle Shaymaa A. Mohamed
Asmaa M. Elsherbini
Heba R. Alrefaey
Kareem Adelrahman
Alshaimaa Moustafa
Nishal M. Egodawaththa
Kaitlyn E. Crawford
Nasri Nesnas
Sally A. Sabra
Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and Applications
Nanomaterials
Gum Arabic
nanoparticles
hydrogels
nanofibers
membranes
scaffolds
title Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and Applications
title_full Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and Applications
title_fullStr Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and Applications
title_full_unstemmed Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and Applications
title_short Gum Arabic: A Commodity with Versatile Formulations and Applications
title_sort gum arabic a commodity with versatile formulations and applications
topic Gum Arabic
nanoparticles
hydrogels
nanofibers
membranes
scaffolds
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/4/290
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