A Weed No Longer

A QUANTUM OF SCIENCE

Latex production finds an unlikely source: dandelions

Latex is a complex emulsion of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins, and gums. In most plants, latex is white, but some have yellow, orange, or scarlet latex. Latex rubber comes from rubber trees, mostly found in South America, where industrial production of this common material has been severely impacted by fungal infections that threaten the entire industry.

The alternative? Dandelions.

The milky white juice that comes out of the stem when picked is a latex not unlike that found in rubber trees, except that it polymerizes immediately on contact with air. With some careful genetic work, scientists have developed a strain of dandelions lacking the enzyme that causes that polymerization, leading to the very real promise of industrial dandelion latex farms in the next five years. The best part of all is that latex from dandelions exhibits none of the immune rejection observed in latex rubber products, making it safe for use by hospitals and other important applications.

Dandelions: a weed no longer.

For more information:

Dandelion’s natural latex now used for rubber production

Latex (Wikipedia article)

© AQOS / P. Smalley (2009)
Reproduction with attribution is appreciation