Department of Biomaterial Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan.
Centre for Incubation, Innovation, Research and Consultancy, Jyothy Institute of Technology, Thataguni Post, Bengaluru, 560082, India; Visvesvaraya Technological University - Research Resource Centre, Jnana Sangama Belagavi, 590018, India.
Carbohydr Polym. 2020 May 15;236:115996. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.115996. Epub 2020 Feb 13.
Kigelia africana also known as sausage plant, yields highly fibrous fruit with a hard shell. Many medicinal uses are reported for the extracts from the fruits, seeds and leaves of sausage trees. In this research, natural cellulose fibers were extracted from the fruit using NaOH and later bleached and characterized for their properties. Results revealed that significant amount of hemicellulose and lignin was lost after the alkali treatment and bleaching leading to a highly cellulosic fiber (up to 71 %). Morphologically, surface of the fibers varied from rough to smooth depending on the extent of treatment. The thermal stability, crystallinity and hydrophobicity increased after the treatment. Sausage fibers also possessed anti-microbial activity against common gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Overall, sausage fibers have properties similar to that of cotton and better than fibers obtained from many unconventional sources. With improved hydrophobicity and anti-bacterial properties, sausage fibers could be potentially applied in functional polymer composites.
腊肠树，又名香肠树，结出的果实纤维多，外壳坚硬。据报道，香肠树的果实、种子和叶子的提取物有许多药用用途。在这项研究中，使用 NaOH 从果实中提取天然纤维素纤维，然后对其进行漂白和特性分析。结果表明，碱处理和漂白后，大量的半纤维素和木质素被去除，从而得到高纤维素纤维（高达 71%）。从形态上看，纤维的表面根据处理程度从粗糙变为光滑。处理后，纤维的热稳定性、结晶度和疏水性增加。香肠纤维还对常见的革兰氏阴性菌和革兰氏阳性菌具有抗菌活性。总的来说，香肠纤维的性能与棉花相似，优于许多非传统来源的纤维。由于提高了疏水性和抗菌性能，香肠纤维可能会潜在地应用于功能性聚合物复合材料中。
