Preparation of water insoluble crosslinked mucilage from ruredzo (dicerocaryum zanguebarium)

Abstract

Ruredzo plants were collected from Bikita area in Masvingo, during the rain season from November 1993 to May 1994. The mucilage from ruredzo (Dicerocaryum Zanguebarium) was extracted from dried leaves and crosslinked with epichlorohydrin. The yield of the crosslinked mucilage (CLM) ranged from 78 percent when crude mucilage in solution was used to 95 percent when purified solid mucilage was used. The bed volume of the CLM, which ranged from 4.5 ml/g to 11.5 nl/g depending on the nature of the starting material, was influenced by pH and ionic strength of the suspending medium and by the presence of ethanol. The concentration of free carboxyl groups in the CLM ranged from 1.17 meq/g when crude solutions of the mucilage were used to 1.47 meq/g when purified solid mucilage was used. Journal of Applied Science in Southern Africa Vol.5, No.1 pp. 47-54