Investigation of Arabic Gum as An Anti-Microbial - Research Paper Example

Investigation of Arabic Gum as An Anti-Microbial There are quite a number of benefits accrued to the Gum Arabic, apart from being a great of source of income and a great player in fighting global warming, it is majorly recognized for the prevention and curing of diseases associated with poor lifestyles.This paper aims at assessing the protective effect of GA as well as the extraction and preparation methods of GA. Kutlu (2011) defines probiotics as live microorganisms that have the ability to confer a health benefit to when dispensed in ample amounts. On the same note, he also defines prebiotics as “foods or food supplements that contain a non-digestible food component that selectively stimulates the favorable growth and/or activity of indigenous probiotic bacteria. Sekhon and Jairath (2010) posit that probiotics can also be referred to as the friendly bacteria that can be utilized as a complementary medicine. They are mainly lauded for their ability to improve gastrointestinal balance of microorganism. There has been some reported evidence that indicates that probiotics can also prevent infections on the urinary tract. On the other hand, prebiotics poses an additional advantage to the probiotic counterparts in the sense that the oligosaccharides contained in prebiotics are not easily destroyed by the gastrointestinal enzymes (Sekhon&Jairath 2010). According to Siddig (2008) Gum Arabic (Acacia Senegal) is deemed as among the very few natural sources of Prebiotic at 100% ratio of fermentation, with most of the prebiotics available in the market being processed. For some time, Gum Arabic has been considerably overlooked due some wrong classification of the same as an additive by the World health Organization WHO and the Food and Agricultural Organization. This made the product to be used mainly in the drink manufacturing industries where it is employed in the manufacture of carbonated drinks. As such, the ultimate consequence of this wrong classification has withdrawn this product from the disposal of patients. The Acacia senegal is a small tree a member of the legume family whose nativity is in Africa and the Middle East. The tree normally exudes a gum that has been used as a curative and the main carrier for the biologically useful agents. Wood (2008) suggests that Acacia senegal is used in a broad fashion as a mucilage and an emollient, where it is commonly used as a syrup to form a coating that mollifies the treachea as well as the oesophagus. The gum is also thick and sticky; properties that significantly help in protecting the surfaces of these smooth internal linings whilst allowing for retention of warmth and moisture. This application has been commercialized in the manufacturing of medicinal tablets where the gum from the tree is used in making as a binder and coating. The prebiotic property of Acacia Senegal stems up from the fact that the tree has mucilage. According to Hoffman (2006), the physical properties of mucilage is more important that their chemical properties. As such, the mucilage obtained from the tree is indigestible just like any other prebiotic. In the case where they are broken down, especially their polysaccharide component, they yield sugars and uronic acids, whose pharmacological effects are generally low. These products are also inert and therefore do not pose any toxic threat to the body. According to Phillips and Williams, the Acacia Senegal mucilage retains a considerably large amount of water and as a result it can maintain an elevated temperature which can gradually permeates into the tissues. The mucilage also serves to check fermentation and bacterial growth. Nishinari and Doi (1993) postulate that the gum also sometimes hosts some probiotic bacteria. When ingested, these bacteria tend to produce some acids that also have some medicinal properties. The bacteria also compete with some pathogenic bacteria for substrates and eventually exposing to malnutrition and eventually death. Consequently they also trigger the immune system (Venderpool et.al 2008). The gum extracted from Acacia Senegal is commercially referred to as Gam Acacia (GA). Jhaxxxx presents that the commercial value of GA is normally graded by its color. The pale GA is sold at a much higher price as compared to the darker GA owing to the latter’s unpleasant taste. In the preparation of the GA, the moisture content of should be maintained between 12%-15%. It is commonly made into either powder from or a soft crush. It is solubility in water makes water one of the solvents used in the preparation of the same. However, Jha(2003) notes that, the gum is normally soluble in water at a temperature of approximately 24 degrees Celsius and above. The mixture of the gum in water is then stirred to make a highly viscous paste, which is purported to have a great value in stabilizing of emulsions especially in manufacture of lozenges. In a workshop proceeding by Dane publication (1993), in general, non-polar solvents are mostly used in the extraction of chemicals that might be useful as waxes and lubricants. On the contrary, polar solvents are mainly used in extraction of compounds useful as chemical intermediaries as they have rather highly reactive oxygen groups. Such compounds are mainly used as coatings and antioxidants. Most of these compounds also have immensely higher concentration of biologically active compounds. This is therefore the basis on which the methods of extraction are determined. In the extraction of GA, water or an acidic aqueous fraction can be used. This method is deemed as advantageous in the sense that it allows for the recovery of some water soluble proteins. According to Lelon et.al 2010 some of the physical properties of GA are used to establish the quality parameters of the GA products. These physical characteristics include internal energy, Volatile matter as well as moisture. Lelon further presents that GA is chemical mixture complex product of hydrophilic protein and hydrophilic carbohydrate component. Being hydrophilic implies that they readily dissolve in water-based solvents. The hydrophobic protein normally functions as an emulsifier that adheres to the oil droplets’ surface. On the other hand, the hydrophobic carbohydrate acts in the inhibition of flocculation and at the same time plays a role in the coalescence of molecules in food additives. The maintenance of a steep moisture content of around 12% to 15% normally enhances the solubility of the hydrophilic carbohydrates as well as the protein components. On the same note, the volatile matter of GA is the determinant of the characteristics and the polymerization degree of the sugar components in the GA. It is the degree of volatile matter polymerization that subsequently gives the strong emulsifying properties of GA and subsequently makes it to function as binders and stabilizers in the manufacture of syrups and tablets in the pharmaceutical industry. In the analysis of these physical properties of GA, moisture content can be determined by using a crucible of a given known mass and an oven that is dried at a standard temperature of around 105 degrees Celsius for six hour. The content is then calculated as the percentage change of the original mass of the crucible. Volatile matter can also be determined as the percentage change in the mass of the original sample mass (Lelon et.al 2010). Imeson (2011) also presents that after extraction, GA usually contains impurities alongside fluctuating bacteriological contamination. The level of the impurities can be reduced to some considerable level through some purifications steps such as sieving, pulverization, known as the dry methods and the purification suing aqueous solution. The use of aqueous solution is deemed as rather more efficient. It involves dissolving the extract fully in water followed by a series of filtration processes. As for bacteriological contamination, a plate heat exchanger is utilized where gum syrup of GA is collected on one end and dried into a powder. Bearing in mind that GA contains substantial amount of protein and that proteins are thermo-sensitive, a steep temperature is maintained to avoid denaturing them. In terms of the general chemical property of GA, the main components are sugars such as galactose, arabinose, glucuronic acids, and calcium, sodium and magnesium ions (Imeson 2011). Using the Gelpermeation process, the molecule structure of the GA can be determined. A typical GA molecule has a minimum of two fractions that have different molecular weights. It is highly branched to form a ‘wattle blossom structure’ (Imeson 2011). According to Balal et.al recent in vitro experiments have revealed a rather powerful immunomodulary effect of GA on dendritic cells antigen that orchestrate the initiation of innate as well as adaptive immunity thereby playing a pivotal role in the regulation of the immune response. Indeed, the fermentation of GA in the stomach normally tends to release small chained fatty acids that enhance serum butyrate concentrations. The compound is responsible for regulation for the formation of haemoglobin, which in turn confer some form of protection to the human body. As therefore seen, GA can be deemed as an important compound in the prevention of intestinal bacteria in human body as well as for food processing. Its ability to fight with other harmful bacteria is very evident and beneficial. 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