Witnessed by: Western
Gum arabic (Senegalia senegal), of the Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) family. Small thorny African tree of the acacia kin with feathery bipinnate leaves and hooked prickles; native range: the Sahel belt of Africa from Senegal to the Sudan, and on into Arabia and western India, on dry sandy ground. Globally recognized as samgh arabi in Arabic, gomme arabique in French, and gum arabic, gum acacia, acacia gum in English. The part used is the dried gummy exudate of the trunk and branches. Pale yellow to amber brittle tears breaking with a glassy fracture, odourless; the taste bland and faintly mucilaginous, dissolving in the mouth to a thick, sweetish slime.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
GUM ARABIC
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- gum arabic
- Scientific name
- Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton
- Family
- Fabaceae (Mimosoideae)
Form
- Part used
- the dried gummy exudate of the trunk and branches
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- mucilaginous · bland (nearly tasteless, faintly sweet)
Temperature
- Western
- neutral
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- mucous membranes · lungs · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- demulcent, emollient, mildly nutritive; a suspending and binding agent — it coats and protects an inflamed surface rather than acting upon it
Cautions
- Contraindications
- no specific contraindication on record; rare hypersensitivity to the dust in those who handle it in bulk
- Toxicity
- essentially non-toxic — a soluble fibre passed by the gut and long accepted as a food additive; large amounts may bring wind and loose stool
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