The use of stable isotopes and elemental profiles in the botanical and geographical characterization of the arabic gum

Arabic gum (AG) is a dried exudate collected from Acacia trees with particular characteristics resulting from its complex mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins. It is widely used for food and non-food industries with an increasing global demand so that the determination of AG origin is fundamental to counteract commercial frauds. The study aims to investigate if elemental and isotopic profiles could discriminate, first, between AG produced from plants belonging to the same genus (Acacia) but to 2 different species (A. senegal, SN; A. seyal, SY), and, second, considering only AG of the same botanical origin (SN), between gums produced from different geographic areas (Kordofan region in Sudan vs other Sub-Saharan areas). The principal component analysis (PCA) perfomed with the significant 22 elements and 3 stable isotopes could clearly separate the 45 gum samples in 2 clusters corresponding to the botanical species. A futher PCA, performed using solely the C, N, Cs, Mg and Na content, properly discriminated between SN samples according to their geographic origin, distinguishing the Kordofan ones, produced only in Kordofan region (Sudan) and traditionally renowned as top-quality products