What is Gum arabic?
[[File:Acacia senegal - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-004.jpg|thumb|right|The ''Senegalia senegal'', from a medicinal handbook]] [[File:Scroll ink materials.JPG|thumb|right|Ingredients used to prepare ink for Hebrew scrolls today]] [[File:Gomma arabica.png|thumb|right|Acacia gum]] '''Gum arabic''', also known as '''acacia gum''', or '''''meska''''', is a [[natural gum]]. It is made of hardened [[sap]] from two species of [[acacia]] tree; ''Senegalia (Acacia) senegal'' and ''Vachellia (Acacia) seyal''. The gum is got from wild trees throughout the [[Sahel]] from [[Senegal]] to [[Somalia]]. In the past it has also been cultivated in [[Arabia]] and west [[Asia]].<ref>Webb, James L.A. 2009. The trade in gum arabic: prelude to French conquest in Senegal. ''The Journal of African History'' '''26''' (2–3): 149 [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=3347744].</ref> Gum arabic is a complex [[mixture]] of [[glycoprotein]]s and [[polysaccharide]]s. It was historically the source of the sugars [[arabinose]] and [[ribose]], both of which were first discovered and isolated from it. == Production == Acacia gum has been harvested in [[Arabia]], [[Sudan]], and west [[Asia]] since antiquity, and sub-Saharan acacia gum has a long history as a prized export. Traditionally harvested by semi-[[nomad]]ic desert tribes on their travels, acacia gum is a main export of several African nations. The hardened gum is collected in the middle of the rainy season (harvesting usually begins in July), and exported at the start of the dry season (November). From the 1950s to the early 1990s [[Sudan]] did about 80% of gum arabic production. Today, the figure is under 50%.<ref>[http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRMDTF/Resources/Gum_Arabic_Policy_Note.pdf Policy note, export marketing of acacia gum from Sudan]. World Bank 2007, p4.</ref> Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese are dependent on gum arabic for their livelihoods. It is still the world's largest single producer, and the production of gum arabic is he