Acacia | Samrah | Hublah

Used for Fiber Supplementation, Curbing Hunger, and Cough

FAMILY NAME	Fabacae
BOTANICAL NAME	Acacia spp.
COMMON NAME	Gum Arabic(a)
SAFETY RATING	Generally Safe, may interfere with the absorption of Oral Drugs

Prophetic Prescription

During a period of at war, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions had nothing to eat but the leaves of Hublah (acacia) and Samrah (acacia) [Sahih Muslim 2966]

Properties & Uses

Acacia is astringent, demulcent, aphrodisiac, and expectorant.

Scientific Studies

Antidiarrheal Activity A decoction of Acacia arabica bark was in the British Pharmacopoeia for the treatment of diarrhea.

Antibacterial Activity A decoction of Acacia arabica bark was included in the British Pharmacopoeia as an astringent gargle, lotion, or injection. According to Maude Grieve, a liquid extract of Acacia arabica was administered in India for its astringent properties.

In a study conducted by the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, the methanol extracts of Acacia nilotica, another form of acacia, showed significant inhibition against Gram-positive and Gram negative bacteria, while acetone extracts of these plants inhibited most of the species

Chemopreventive Activity In a controlled animal trial at the University of Rajasthan in India, the leaf extract of Acacia nilotica was found to have significant chemopreventive and antimutagenic activity, followed by the flower extract, and then the gum

Anti–Hepatitis C Activity In a Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University study in Japan, methanol and water extracts of Acacia nilotica showed significant inhibitory activity against the hepatitis C virus using in vitro assay methods

Anti-HIV Activity In a study conducted by Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, in Japan, methanol and aqueous extracts of Acacia nilotica bark and pods showed considerable inhibitory effects against HIV-1.

References

1. Sahih Muslim 2966

2. Ghazanfar SA. Handbook of Arabian Medicinal Plants.Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1994.

3. Chaudhary SA. Flora of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. al-RiyyIö: Ministry of Agriculture and Water, 1999.

4. Farooqi MIH. Medicinal Plants in the Traditions of Prophet Muhammad. Lucknow: Sidrah Publishers, 1998: 96.

5. Dept. of the Army. U.S. Army Survival Manual. Washington: Dept. of the Army, 1957. http://www.surviv aliq.com/survival/edible-and-medicinal-plants-acacia.htm

6. Davidson A. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1999: 2.

7. Coyle LP. The World Encyclopedia of Food. New York:Facts on File, 1982: 3.

8. Kambizi, Afolayan. An ethnobotanical study of plantsused for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (njovhera) in Guruve District, Zimbabwe. Ethno pharmacol2001; 77(1): 5–9.29

9. Meena, Kaushik, Shukla, Soni, Kumar. Anticancerand antimutagenic properties of Acacia nilotica (Linn.) on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced skin papillomagenesis in Swiss albino mice. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2006; 7(4): 627–632.

10. Hussein, Miyashiro H, Nakamura, Hattori M, Kakiuchi, Shimotohno. Inhibitory effects of Sudanese medicinal plant extracts on hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease. Phytother 2000; 14(7): 510–516. 11. Hussein, Miyashiro, Nakamura, Hattori, Kawahata,Otake, Kakiuchi, Shimotohno. Inhibitory effects of Sudanese plant extracts on HIV-1 replication and HIV-1 protease. Phy-

tother 1999; 13(1): 31–36.