Grasses hemicelluloses

Xylan-type polysaccharides are the main hemicellulose components of secondary cell walls constituting about 20-30% of the biomass of dicotyl plants (hardwoods and herbaceous plants). In some tissues of monocotyl plants (grasses and cereals) xylans occur up to 50% [6j. Xylans are thus available in huge and replenishable amoimts as by-products from forestry, the agriculture, wood, and pulp and paper industries. Nowadays, xylans of some seaweed represent a novel biopolymer resource [4j. The diversity and complexity of xylans suggest that many useful by-products can be potentially produced and, therefore, these polysaccharides are considered as possible biopolymer raw materials for various exploitations. As a renewable resource, xylans are... 

AGX are also the dominant hemicelluloses in the cell walls of hgnified supporting tissues of grasses and cereals. They were isolated from sisal, corncobs and the straw from various wheat species [4]. A more recent study on corncob xylans [30] showed the presence of a hnear, water-insoluble polymer... 

Potential resources of xylans are by-products produced in forestry and the pulp and paper industries (forest chips, wood meal and shavings), where GX and AGX comprise 25-35% of the biomass as well as annual crops (straw, stalks, husk, hulls, bran, etc.), which consist of 25-50% AX, AGX, GAX, and CHX [4]. New results were reported for xylans isolated from flax fiber [16,68], abaca fiber [69], wheat straw [70,71], sugar beet pulp [21,72], sugarcane bagasse [73], rice straw [74], wheat bran [35,75], and jute bast fiber [18]. Recently, about 39% hemicelluloses were extracted from vetiver grasses [76]. 

In a recent paper [213], various GM-rich hemicellulose fractions containing 26-64% mannose and 1.4-2.2% galactose were isolated from ramie (Boehmeria nivea), which is a perennial grass. This is unexpected, because hemicelluloses of grasses contain predominantly xylans [4]. 

Fourth lesson - combination of different compounds in unique macrostructure provides unique performance properties. Starch is used extensively in nature to store carbon and energy. Starch is readily digested and must be protected from degradation by a resistant coating, for example, a seed (e.g. com, wheat or rice) or a skin (e.g. potato). Woody materials such as trees, soft plants and grasses are composed of a complex combination of aliphatic and aromatic compounds (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin). 

Hemicelluloses are quite difficult to extract from cell walls of softwoods (9,10) and are usually destroyed or depolymerized during the chemical pulping of these raw materials. However, other hemicelluloses, primarily xylans, can be extracted by cold, dilute sodium hydroxide from grasses and many hardwoods in very high yields (9,77). These xylans are deacetylated in an alkaline medium and are for the most part insoluble (hemicellulose A). A partially water soluble fraction (hemicellulose B) has also been... 

The hetero-l,4-linked xylans (or heteroxylans) constitute a well-characterized group of polysaccharides which form the major components of the hemicellulosic fractions of terrestrial plants (1-4). Softwoods are an exception, where the heteroxylans can be present as a minor component of the total hemicelluloses. They have been isolated from grasses, legumes, ferns, softwoods and hardwoods, and collectively may constitute up to 35% of the total dry weight of higher land plants (4). As such the heteroxylans rank second to cellulose in abundance as naturally occurring organic chemicals in the biosphere. The heteroxylans are closely associated with other... 

The Purdue concepts have been applied to several different agricultural products, such as corn stalks, alfalfa, orchard grass, tall fescue, and sugarcane bagasse. No experiments have been reported on either hardwoods or softwoods. The processes have been explored in two major modes. In the first, the entire agricultural residue is treated with solvent in the second, a dilute acid pretreatment to remove hemicellulose precedes solvent treatment. The first process is especially desirable for making furfural or fermentation products from hemicellulose as a separate activity. Then, the hemicellulose-free raw material can be converted to substantially pure glucose. 

From this type of schematic representation it would be expected that a more highly branched xylan chain would give more potential for reaction of the arabinose residues, either through crosslink formation or by Maillard-type reactions. Indirect evidence supporting this concept can be derived from pentosan analysis of the hemicellulose fraction of grasses and legumes. 

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