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Answered by Aaron Abadi

Is that person going to take responsibility for the accuracy of his statement? Two seconds on Yahoo, & look what I found you: Gum arabic Source Gum arabic (E414, acacia gum) is prepared from an exudate from the stems and branches of sub-Saharan (Sahel zone) Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal (Leguminosae) trees and produced naturally as large nodules during a process called gummosis to seal wounds in the bark of the tree. It is a less consistent material than other hydrocolloids. Structural unit Gum arabic is a complex and variable mixture of arabinogalactan oligosaccharides, polysaccharides and glycoproteins. Depending on the source, the glycan components contain a greater proportion of L-arabinose relative to D-galactose (Acacia seyal) or D-galactose relative to L-arabinose (Acacia senegal). The gum from Acacia seyal also contains significantly more 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronic acid but less L-rhamnose and unsubstituted D-glucuronic acid than that from Acacia senegal [370]. Molecular structure Gum arabic consists of a mixture of lower molecular weight polysaccharide (M.Wt. ~0.25x106; major component) and higher molecular weight hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein (M.Wt. ~2.5x106 minor component) [368]. Because it is a mixture and the material varies significantly with source, the exact molecular structures are still rather uncertain. Its glycoprotein is a high molecular weight hydroxyproline rich arabinogalactan (~2% protein) containing a repetitive and almost symmetrical 19-residue consensus motif -ser-hypa-hypa-hypa-thr-leu-ser-hypb-ser-hypb-thr-hyp-thr-hypa-hypa-hypa-gly-pro-his- [368] with contiguous hydroxyprolines (a) attached to oligo-a-1,3-L-arabinofurans and non-contiguous hydroxyprolines (b) attached to galactose residues of oligo-arabinogalactans. combining a b-1,3-galactopyran core with rhamnoglucuronoarabinogalactose pentasaccharide side chains [368]. Functionality Gum arabic is a useful if rather expensive hydrocolloid emulsifier, texturizer and film-former, widely used in the drinks industry to stabilize flavors and essential oils, for example in soft drink concentrates. The simultaneous presence of hydrophilic carbohydrate and hydrophobic protein enables its emulsification and stabilization properties. Emulsification is particularly enhanced due to molecular flexibility which allows greater surface interaction with the oil droplets. Gum arabic is used in confectionery such as traditional hard (wine) gums, pastilles and as a foam stabilizer in marshmallows. The gum arabic glycoprotein possesses a flexible but compact conformation. It is readily soluble to give relatively low viscosity newtonian solutions even at high concentrations (20-30 % wt/wt). However, and rather confusingly, molecular aggregation can cause both shear thinning and time-dependent thickening behavior at low shear [369]. Gum tragacanth (Astralagus gummifer, E413) is a related exudate gum arabinogalactan containing a-L-arabinofuranose and 1-4-linked b-D-galalactopyranose [367]. It is used as an acid-resistant thickener and emulsifier in sauces, salad dressings and confectionery lozenges. AA