Albizia gum:
Albizia gum is obtained from the incised trunk of the tree
Albizia zygia, family Leguminosae and is shaped like round
elongated tears of variable color ranging from yellow to dark
brown. It consists of !-1– 3-linked D-galactose units with
some ß1-6-linked D-galactose units. The genus Albizzia
containing some twenty-six species is a member of the
Mimosaceae, a family which also includes the gum-bearing
genera Acacia and Prosopis. Only two species of Albizia, A.
zygia and A. sassa, are however, known to produce gum.
Albizia gum has been investigated as a possible substitute for
gum arabic as a natural emulsifier for food and
80,81 pharmaceuticals . These gums were tried as coating
materials in compression-coated tablets, which degraded, by
62 the colonic microflora, thereby releasing the drug .