You'll find acacia powder in a variety of vitamins, especially those that are sold in health and organic food stores. This soluble fiber, which also is sold alone as a supplement, comes from the acacia tree. It has no taste or color. This substance formerly had many uses in traditional medicine, from external pastes for burns to being dissolved in water to treat sore throats. Today it's more often used for its cohesive qualities in vitamins and other products.
Function
Acacia is used as a binder to helps hold the ingredients in vitamins together. Chemically, acacia is a combination of proteins and complex polysaccharides including galactose, rhamnose and arabinose. You'll find it in an array of products besides vitamins, including lozenges, ice cream and ink.
Geography
Acacia trees mostly come from the Darfur region of Sudan, Africa. They are harvested for their resin, which is called gum arabic. The tree is a plant in the family Mimosacaea and is a close cousin of legumes. In fact, you can think of an acacia as a tree-sized, spiny and woody bean. You will also see acacia referred to on ingredient labels as gum Arabic, acacia Senegal, Acacia nilotica and Acacia seyhal.
Significance
Acacia is frequently utilized in vitamins that are advertised as "vegetarian," "organic" or "natural." It's also found in vitamins that boast of "high-quality" ingredients. For example, one manufacturer's iron and folic acid vitamins boasts of being made from "natural plant materials" and having no added colors or artificial preservatives. Another boasts of having the "highest quality" ingredients in its multivitamin. You will find it in vitamins that come in powdered and tablet form. You'll also find it in juice concentrates that boast vitamin power.
Types
You will find acacia it in vitamins that come in powdered and tablet form. You'll also find it in juice concentrates. In the liquid products, it forms a highly viscous solution, meaning it has a thickening effect. In powdered products, it helps to preserve flavor after spray-drying it to form a thin film around flavoring ingredients, which prevents oxidation, evaporation or moisture absorption from the air.
Alternatives
There are many alternatives to acacia when it comes to binders for vitamins. Cellulose and ethyl cellulose are extremely common. Cellulose is plant fiber's main constituent. You'll also see algin, which is a plant carbohydrate that comes from seaweed.
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