Gum Arabic
<p ><b>Gum arabic</b>, also known as <b>acacia gum</b>, <i><b>chaar gund</b></i>, <i><b>char goond</b></i>, or <i><b>meska</b></i>, is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gum" title="Natural gum" >natural gum</a> made of hardened <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sap" title="Sap" class="mw-redirect" >sap</a> taken from two species of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia" title="Acacia" >acacia</a> tree; <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_senegal" title="Acacia senegal" >Acacia senegal</a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_seyal" title="Acacia seyal" >Acacia seyal</a></i>. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees throughout the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahel" title="Sahel" >Sahel</a> from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal" title="Senegal" >Senegal</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan" title="Sudan" >Sudan</a> to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia" title="Somalia" >Somalia</a>, although it has been historically cultivated in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabia" title="Arabia" class="mw-redirect" >Arabia</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Asia" title="West Asia" class="mw-redirect" >West Asia</a>.</p>
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Gum arabic is a complex <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture" title="Mixture" >mixture</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycoprotein" title="Glycoprotein" >glycoproteins</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysaccharide" title="Polysaccharide" >polysaccharides</a>. It was historically the source of the sugars <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabinose" title="Arabinose" >arabinose</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribose" title="Ribose" >ribose</a>, both of which were first discovered and isolated from it, and are named for it.
Gum arabic is used primarily in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_industry" title="Food industry" >food industry</a> as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilizer_(chemistry)" title="Stabilizer (chemistry)" >stabilizer</a>. It is edible and has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number" title="E number" >E number</a> E414. Gum arabic is a key ingredient in traditional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithography" title="Lithography" >lithography</a> and is used in printing, paint production, glue, cosmetics and various industrial applications, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscosity" title="Viscosity" >viscosity</a> control in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink" title="Ink" >inks</a> and in textile industries, although less expensive materials compete with it for many of these roles.</p>
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While gum arabic is now produced mostly throughout the African Sahel, it is still harvested and used in the Middle East.
For example, Arab populations use the natural gum to make a chilled, sweetened, and flavored <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato" title="Gelato" >gelato</a>-like dessert.</p>