Effect of some microbial species on gum arabic physicochemical characteristics

Characterization of gum Arabic is of paramount importance especially when it is intended to be used as a natural additive in a wide spectrum of pharmaceutical and food industries. In this study, laboratory procedures as well as biochemical tests were used to investigate the effect of some bacteria species on the characteristics of Acacia Senegal var. Senegal gum Arabic stored for different periods. The results revealed that dried gum Arabic, kept under long-term storage, is more resistant to biodegradation than the freshly harvested one. In general, the pH, viscosity, nitrogen and protein were decreased to various levels in accordance with the bacterial species used. The various sugars level has also been affected; galactose and arabinose were totally consumed by microorganisms, whereas rhamanose level was partially decreased by all microbial species used in this study except for C. Xerosis where it was increased from 12% to 36%. The relatively high utilization of gum Arabic components by the microorganisms investigated indicates the probability of gum Arabic deterioration by the growth bacteria.