Kreitschitz Agnieszka, Gorb Stanislav N
University of Wrocław, Department of Plant Developmental Biology, ul. Kanonia 6/8, 50-328 Wrocław, Poland.
Kiel University, Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Am Botanischen Garten 9, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2024 Dec 13;15:1603-1618. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.15.126. eCollection 2024.
The increasing interests in natural, biodegradable, non-toxic materials that can find application in diverse industry branches, for example, food, pharmacy, medicine, or materials engineering, has steered the attention of many scientists to plants, which are a known source of natural hydrogels. Natural hydrogels share some features with synthetic hydrogels, but are more easy to obtain and recycle. One of the main sources of such hydrogels are mucilaginous seeds and fruits, which produce after hydration a gel-like, transparent capsule, the so-called mucilage envelope. Mucilage serves several important biological functions, such as supporting seed germination, protecting seeds against pathogens and predators, and allowing the seed to attach to diverse surfaces (e.g., soil or animals). The attachment properties of mucilage are thus responsible for seed dispersal. Mucilage represents a hydrophilic, three-dimensional network of polysaccharides (cellulose, pectins, and hemicelluloses) and is able to absorb large amounts of water. Depending on the water content, mucilage can behave as an efficient lubricant or as strong glue. The current work attempts to summarise the achievements in the research on the mucilage envelope, primarily in the context of its structure and physical properties, as well as biological functions associated with these properties.
人们对可用于食品、制药、医学或材料工程等不同行业的天然、可生物降解、无毒材料的兴趣与日俱增，这使得许多科学家将注意力转向了植物，因为植物是天然水凝胶的已知来源。天然水凝胶与合成水凝胶有一些共同特征，但更容易获得和回收利用。这类水凝胶的主要来源之一是富含黏液的种子和果实，它们在水化后会产生一种凝胶状的透明胶囊，即所谓的黏液包膜。黏液具有多种重要的生物学功能，如支持种子萌发、保护种子免受病原体和捕食者侵害，以及使种子能够附着在各种表面（如土壤或动物）上。因此，黏液的附着特性决定了种子的传播。黏液是一种由多糖（纤维素、果胶和半纤维素）构成的亲水性三维网络，能够吸收大量水分。根据含水量的不同，黏液可以表现为高效润滑剂或强力胶水。当前的工作试图总结在黏液包膜研究方面取得的成果，主要围绕其结构和物理性质，以及与这些性质相关的生物学功能。
