Acacia seyal, the dryland gold that remains unexploited by farmers

Acacia seyal is one of the two acacias – the other being senegal – that are valued for the production of Gum Arabic. However, the senegal gum is rated higher than the seyal one.

The seyal tree grows naturally in Africa’s drylands, from Senegal in the west to Somalia in the east. Sudan, which produces 80 per cent of the world’s Gum Arabic, has large plantations.

According to Guide to Tree Planting in Kenya by the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (Kefri), acacia seyal grows in altitudes of 1,000 to 1,400m above sea level. Annual rains in these ecological zones range from 400 to 800mm.

Benefits

Its benefits include food, medicine, charcoal, firewood, poles and posts.

Gum Arabic, its most important product, has multiple uses. It is used in the food industry as a stabiliser and as a thickening agent in icings and fillings. It can also be used in the making of soft candy and chewing gum.

It is used in wines, soft drinks and flavourings. It can be used as a coating agent for confectioneries, an emulsifier and stabilising agent in drinks or fibre in food.

In confectionery, Gum Arabic is used to achieve a range of textures (from soft to hard), as a binder and to prevent sugar crystallisation.

In chewy confectionery such as caramels, toffees and chewing gums, it is used as an emulsifier to improve softness, moisture and flavour retention.

In chocolates, it prevents fat bloom on the surface and is also used as a foam stabiliser in marshmallows and beer.

Emulsification and acid stability are key properties that allow for Gum Arabic’s wide application in beverages. It is used to stabilise citrus and cola flavours in soft drinks.

Medicine

Gum Arabic is used in traditional or alternative medicine. It has been confirmed to be a sedative, relaxing, softening and healing agent.

It is involved in some internal and external traditional medicine interventions such as coughs, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhage and inflammation. It is also applied for treatment of skin diseases and inflammations in veterinary medicine.

Many local communities in its ecological zones have used it to protect against liver, renal and cardiac complications in diabetic and chronic renal failure patients.

A number of scientific studies have been carried out on the medicinal uses of Gum Arabic. One study, “Health benefits of Gum Arabic and medical use” by Abdelkareen A. Ahmed, was published in the journal Science Direct in 2018.

It showed that the gum helps wound healing, promotes oral health, reduces body fat, soothes coughs and sore throats, treats diarrhoea, haemorrhages and jaundice.

Clinically, it ensures reduction of urea and creatinine plasma concentrations in patients with chronic renal failure, thus reducing the need for dialysis from three to two times per week.

Another study titled “Use of Acacia gum in the treatment of skin lesions in children with kwashiorkor’’ was carried out by Abdel Karim Elhag Ali and published in Gum Arabic journal. It showed that the topical application of acacia gum powder on skin lesions led to their rapid healing.

Charcoal

In Sudan where the trees are planted for gum, they are converted into firewood, charcoal and poles once their gum production reduces.

The trees also fix nitrogen in the soil thus can be intercropped with agricultural crops. Most of Kenya’s gum is tapped from wild trees but the potential is much bigger if plantations can be established.

Propagation

Propagation is mainly through seedlings, which cost an average of Sh50 in private nurseries. At Kefri, seeds sell at Sh2,000 a kilo. They take between 15 to 25 years to mature.

[email protected]