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. 2023 Jan 9;13(1):138.
doi: 10.3390/biom13010138.

The Efficacy of Gum Arabic in Managing Diseases: A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Clinical Trials

Yamamh Al-Jubori  1 , Nazik Tayfour Babiker Ahmed  1 , Rawan Albusaidi  1 , James Madden  2 , Srijit Das  3 , Srinivasa Rao Sirasanagandla  3
Affiliations

The Efficacy of Gum Arabic in Managing Diseases: A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Clinical Trials

Yamamh Al-Jubori et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Gum arabic (GA) is a natural product commonly used as a household remedy for treating various diseases in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Despite its claimed benefits, there has been a lack of research on the findings of current clinical trials (CTs) that investigated its efficacy in the treatment of various medical diseases. The aim of this systematic review was to study CTs which focused on GA and its possible use in the management of various medical diseases. A search of the extant literature was performed in the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases to retrieve CTs focusing on evidence-based clinical indications. The databases were searched using the keywords ("Gum Arabic" OR "Acacia senegal" OR "Acacia seyal" OR "Gum Acacia" OR "Acacia Arabica") AND ("Clinical Trial" OR "Randomized Controlled Trial" OR "Randomized Clinical Trial"). While performing the systematic review, data were obtained on the following parameters: title, authors, date of publication, study design, study aim, sample size, type of intervention used, targeted medical diseases, and main findings. Twenty-nine papers were included in this systematic review. The results showed that ingestion of GA altered lipid profiles, renal profiles, plaque, gingival scores, biochemical parameters, blood pressure, inflammatory markers, and adiposity. GA exhibited anti-inflammatory, prebiotic, and antibacterial properties. GA has been successfully used to treat sickle cell anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic disorders, periodontitis, gastrointestinal conditions, and kidney diseases. Herein, we discuss GA with respect to the underlying mechanisms involved in each medical disease, thereby justifying GA's future role as a therapeutic agent.

Keywords: Acacia senegal; Acacia seyal; gum arabic; natural product; systematic review; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photographs showing (A) Acacia seyal and (B) Gum Arabic.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The basic chemical structure of arabic acid present in gum arabic [1].
Figure 3
Figure 3
PRISMA flow diagram showing the selection, inclusion, and exclusion of clinical trial studies.
Figure 4
Figure 4
A schematic diagram depicting the beneficial effects of GA on various medical diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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