Flax Family

The flax fiber from the aimual plant IJnum usitatissimum (flax family, Liuaceae) has been used siuce ancient times as the fiber for linen. The plant grows iu temperate, moderately moist climates, for example, iu Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, and Russia. The plant is also cultivated for its seed, from which linseed oil is produced. A by-product of the seed plant is the tow fiber used iu papermakiug. 

HNLs comprise a heterogenous enzyme family, since hydroxynitrile lyase activity has evolved in different structural frames by convergent evolution [17, 18]. Thus, (S) -specific HNLs based on an a/P-hydrolase fold framework from Manihot esculmta (cassava) [19-21], Hevea hrasilensis (rubber tree) [22-26], and Sorghum hicolor (millet) [27-33] have been described. (R)-specific HNLs based on the structural framework of oxidoreductases were isolated from Linum usitatissimum (flax) [30, 34-37] and Rosaceae (e.g., bitter almonds) [31, 38]. Despite their potential in biocatalysis only few HNLs (from cassava and rubber tree) are available by recombinant gene expression, which is a prerequisite for their technical application [20, 24]. Thus, cloning, recombinant expression, and... 

Fibers are used in a wide variety of applications and are composed of diverse materials. Natural animal and plant fibers, including wool, silk, cotton, hemp, ramie, flax, jute, and sisal, have long been used for clothing, baskets, fishing nets, and rope. Ropemaking has been an essential skill for thousands of years, a key element in the advancement of civilizations via the oceans. The natural mineral fiber asbestos is in the silicate family. We have encountered glass fibers previously in the text (see Chapter 7). 

Cassava, lima beans, linseed, bamboo sprout, macadamia nuts, hydrangea, Rosaceae family (plum, peach, pear, apple, bitter almond, cherry). Sorghum species (Johnson grass, sorghum, Sudan grass, arrow grass), Linum species (flax, yellow pine flax)... 

Many species in the Europhorbiaceae and Labiatae families produce seeds with a high content of oil and contribution of hnolenic acid of up to 76% (1). Flaxseed has been used for years in the production of paints, varnishes, inks, and linoleum. In food applications, flaxseed is more often used than oil because of its better stability and because of the presence of fiber, lignans, and a-linolenic acid (ALA), which have health benefits. Cold pressed flaxseed oil is not considered suitable for deep-frying, although Chinese use it in stir-frying (2). In this chapter, oilseeds of flax, perilla, camelina, and chia are discussed as sources of oils with elevated content of ALA. These oilseeds are produced in industrial quantities and can be considered as potential sources of new oils with specific nutritional and functional properties. 

Flaxseed/linseed is the annual cultivar of Linum usitatissimum L. Flax is a member of the Linaceae family that includes ten genera and more than 150 species (3). Approximately 200 species of Linum are known (3). 

Sterols or phytosterols are present in flax oils at a level lower than those in many vegetable oils, 2.3 mg/g in flaxseed oil versus 4.1 to 6.9 mg/g in other oils (Table 2). The composition of sterols was similar to other oils, where p-sitosterol was the main component followed by campesterol and A -avenasterol. Brassicasterol was found in trace amounts in flax oil. This phytosterol is characteristic to plants from the Brassica family and often is used as a marker for oil adulteration (Table 2). 

LINSEED (Flax), Lint semen is harvested from Linum usitatissimum L., family Linaceae. The plant has been cultivated for centuries in Europe for textile purposes. In the epidermis of the seed coat there is 3-6% mucilage consisting of galacturonic acid, galactose, rhamnose, and arabinose, mannuronic acid. Linseed is cheap and simple to use as a laxative 1 spoon of linseed is allowed to swell overnight in a cup of water, and next morning the contents of the cup are swallowed. Its value has been demonstrated in two studies of patients with constipation. 

The flax plant belongs to the family Flax, genus Linum. Of the 150 species of this genus, only one, Linum usitatissimum, produces commercially useful fiber. 

Flax seed has a warm, earthy and subtly nutty, butter flavour. The seed can be eaten entirely, and has traditionally been used as an add-on to cereal or bread. Today flaxseed is experiencing a renaissance among nutritionists, the health conscious public, food and feed processors (see Chapter 6) and chefs alike. It is one of the richest sources of lignan and a-linolenic acid (> 50%), one type of fatty acid in the polyunsaturated co-3 fatty acid (PUFA) family, considered essential fatty acids. Lignans, like isoflavones, are one of the major classes of phytoestrogens, which are estrogen-like chemicals and act as antioxidants. 

Camelina sativa, usually known in English as gold-of-pleasure or false flax, also occasionally linseed dodder and Siberian oilseed, is a flowering plant in the family brassicaceae, which also includes rapeseed. The crop is now being... 

Camelina sativa (L.), also known as false flax or gold of pleasure, is an annual plant that belongs to the Brassicaceae family. Camelina was an important CTop in Europe until it was replaced with rapeseed. There was no commercial production of camelina in the United States until 2004. A rapid increase in production has been observed since 2004 reaching approximately 30000ha in 2009 (Berti et al, 2011). 

Eiax belongs to the family Linaceae, and the type considered here belongs to the genus Linum. There are wild-growing, small, herbaceous perennials and cultivated, annual flax plants. 

Like flax, jute, hemp, and ramie also belong to the family of hard fibers and had been used for a long time, but their importance declined in favor of first cotton and later chemical fibers. Today, they are becoming more and more important again as regenerative raw materials. 

The main sources of cellulose are issued to i) primitive organisms like bacteria ( Acetobacter xylinum), algae (ex Valonia, Cladophora, Microdictyon) ii) plants (ex wood, cotton, flax, ramie, jute, parenchyma of sugar beet pulp...) and iii) envelop of sea animals belonging to the Ascidians family (ex tunicate). 

That the same family relationships are thought not to prevail once flax shifts to wool, that there is assumed some fundamental difference (albeit not explicitly stated by McCorriston) once pastoralism enters the picture, derives from a particular, deeply embedded, and widespread vmderstanding that pastoralism, especially the w -estate-controlled form of pastoralism, is in some innate way separate from the world of farmers and weavers to the degree that even close familial interactions and obligations become so attenuated that they result in the essential abandonment of women. This separation pertains not so much to the physical distance that mobility brings, but encompasses a profound social segregation. 

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