Characterization of Acacia gerrardii var. gerrardii Gum

Abstract

Sample of authentic Acacia gerarrdii var. gerarrdii were collected from south kordufan state of Sudan during the season of 2010. The physiochemical properties of Acacia gerarrdii var. gerarrdii gum were studied. Parameters such as solubility moisture content, ash content, pH value, specific optical rotation, intrinsic viscosity, nitrogen and protein content, acid equivalent weight and total uornic acid were determined. The results show that : solubility is 20% , moisture content 7.62 %, ash content 1.8%, pH value 5.32 , specific optical rotation +60 intrinsic viscosity 15.1 cm3/ g , nitrogen content 1.88%, protein 13.16%, acid equivalent weight 2000 and total uronic acid 9.7%. Acid hydrolysis of Acacia gerarrdii var gerarrdii followed by HPLC measurements revealed that sugar content was : Arabinose 39.3%, Galactose 5.5% and Rhmnose less than 1%. Mineral composition of sample were studied using flame photometer and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) techniques. The results showed that calcium has the highest value (70 mg/L), followed by potassium (5.3 mg/L), sodium (4.9 mg/L), magnesium (2.9 mg/L) and less than 1 mg/L for Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu. The average number molecular weight of the sample was estimated using osmotic pressure measurements and found to be 1.1× 105 Daltons.