Improving the film forming ability of gum arabic

The utility of gum Arabic (Acacia Species) as film former (binder) in formulations was investigated. Some property such as blistering and scratch adhesion of the solutions of crude gum Arabic as a sole binder in formulations were investigated and compared to those of solutions of modified gum Arabic. From the work carried out, it was discovered that the quality of the film resulting from the solution of crude gum Arabic was poor. In order to improve the film forming ability of gum arabic, some additives such as plasticizers and cross-linking agents were incorporated. It was found that the solution of gum Arabic with plasticizer and cross-linking agents incorporated gave a high quality film than that of the crude gum Arabic. It was recommended that additives should be incorporated into gum Arabic solution in order to achieve high quality films.