Refinement of structures previously proposed for gum arabic and other acacia gum exudates

In the light of advances in structural gum-chemistry, the analytical data available from earlier analytical and structural studies of gum arabic (Acacia Senegal Willd.), and of the gum exudates from Acacia laeta, A. campylacantha and A. seyal, have been re-interpreted. The structures originally suggested were based on random arbitrary assignments of substituent sugars without an attempt to establish regular structures. Modelling considerations and recalculations show that the data can also be interpreted in terms of more ordered structures. These are consistent with almost all of the available experimental data and give a much clearer insight into the nature and extent of the structural differences shown by the two Acacia gums of commercial importance. Acacia senegal (gum arabic, gum hashab) and Acacia seyal (gum talha).