Resins chicle

The latex of the Sapota achras yields a thermoplastic material, chicle, consisting of about 17.4% hydrocarbon, 40% acetone soluble resin and 35% occluded water. The hydrocarbon appears to contain both trans- and c/s-polyisoprene. Although originally introduced as gutta pereha and natural rubber substitutes, deresinated chicle has become important as the base for chewing gum. Like other polyisoprenes, it is meeting competition from synthetic polymers. 

Rubber is all-cw-polyisoprene of mixed MW, from less than 10 to about 4 X 10 (Archer and Audley, 1967). Gutta is traw5-polyisoprene of lower MW (Archer and Audley, 1973). Chicle, the traditional chewing gum base, is a mixture of low-MW cis- and tra 5-polyisoprenes, together with acetone-soluble resins (Archer and Audley, 1973). 

Chewing gum is enjoying increased usage in the world and would be in short supply if chicle were the only base. Other bases now being used include refined pine tree resins from the southeastern U.S., jelutong from Indonesia and Malaysia, and synthetic rubbers such as polyisobutylene and styrene-butadiene rubber. Chicle consumption is estimated in the United States at 1000- 2000 tons per year. 

Crude chicle contains 15-20% hydrocarbons that are polyisoprenes (mixture of low molecular weight cis-, A and trans-, A units in an approximately 2 7 ratio) up to 55% of a yellow resin, consisting primarily of lupeol acetate with minor amounts of P-amyrin and a-spi-nasterol acetates also, taraxasterol and other triterpene alcohol acetates a gum composed of a (1 —> 4)-linked xylan backbone highly substimtedwith oligosaccharidechains sugar ... 

Food. The primary use of chicle is as the gum base in chewing gum its use level in chewing gum is about 20%. The rest of the chewing gum is sugar and corn syrup, with small amounts of flavorings. This gum is not a true gum (see glossary) but is close in chemical and physical nature to natural rubber and resins hence it is soft and plastic when chewed and is reportedly not soluble in saliva. 

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