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Extraction and characterization of a natural rubber from Euphorbia characias latex
Author(s) -
Spanò Delia,
Pintus Francesca,
Mascia Claudia,
Scorciapino Mariano Andrea,
Casu Mariano,
Floris Giovanni,
Medda Rosaria
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.22044
Subject(s) - natural rubber , chemistry , characterization (materials science) , extraction (chemistry) , euphorbia , euphorbiaceae , polymer science , botany , chromatography , organic chemistry , materials science , nanotechnology , biology
Abstract A natural rubber was identified and characterized for the first time in the latex of the perennial Mediterranean shrub Euphorbia characias . Four different methods, i.e., acetone, acetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and Triton® X‐100, followed by successive treatments with cyclohexane/ethanol, were employed to extract the natural rubber. The rubber content was shown to be 14% (w/v) of the E. characias latex, a low content compared with that of Hevea brasiliensis (30–35%) but a similar content to other rubber producing plants. E. characias rubber showed a molecular weight of 93,000 with a M w / M n of 2.9. 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and FTIR analysis revealed the characteristic of the cis ‐1,4‐polyisoprene typical of natural rubber. These results provided novel insight into latex components and will ultimately benefit the broader understanding of E. characias latex composition. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 97: 589–594, 2012.