Human in vivo study: The Effect of Gum Arabic on Coagulation Cascade

Abstract

Recent researches demonstrate the biological activity of Gum Arabic (GA) and promote the use of GA in medicine.
This study was designed to determine the effect of GA on human coagulation system. A pilot study was set out. A total of
47females were enrolled in the study and divided into two groups, randomly, a control with 18 females and intervention group
with 29 females. A dose of 30g/ day/ 8 weeks of GA, was administrated to the intervention group .Blood samples were collected
pre and post intervention and Prothrombin time (PT) and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) were estimated and
compared to controls. Results revealed that, the mean difference of the PT in seconds of the intervention group was (1.02 ± 0.31)
and differ significantly from the control group (-0.33 ± 0.29).Whilst the mean difference value of APTT in seconds of the
intervention group was (-1.9 ± 0.69) and not significantly increased in comparison to the control (-0.94 ± 0.98) group. This study
established GA anticoagulant effect in human and nominated GA as potential preventive agent for thromboembolic diseases.
While more studies are needed to demonstrate the curative effectiveness.