Electrical and optical properties of two types of gum Arabic

ABSTRACT

Gum Arabic is most important commercial poly-saccharine and it is probably the oldest food hydro-colloid in current use. Gum Arabic is naturally obtained from Acacia Senegal and seyal trees which are known to grow in sub Sahara region of the Sudan. Two types of Gum Arabic namely; Acacia Senegal and Seyal were used. X-ray fluorescence [XRF] and Fourier Transformation infrared spectroscopy [FTIR] were used as analytical techniques. The conductivity and dielectric of both types of Gum Arabic were measured as function of frequency. Solutions with different concentration of Gum Arabic for both types were prepared and the Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy [UV] was used to study the optical properties of these solutions. The XRF results indicated that, Gum Arabic [Acacia Senegal and Seyal] contained Calcium [Ca], Iron [Fe], Copper [Cu], Lead [Pb], and Strontium [Sr]. The FTIR spectra of both types of Gum Arabic showed broad and strong absorption band in the range of 600 to 3000 cm-1. These absorptions were assigned to the different stretching vibrations. The conductivity was found to increase with frequency while the opposite behavior observed for the dielectric. The absorption was found to increase with the increase of concentration