Mucilage

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Mucilage

Mucilage is a polar

Chemical polarity

In chemistry, polarity refers to the dipole-dipole intermolecular forces between the slightly electric charge end of one molecule to the negative end of another or the same molecule....
glycoprotein

Glycoprotein

Not to be confused with peptidoglycan or proteoglycan.Glycoproteins are proteins that contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to their Peptide side-chains....
; an exopolysaccharide

Polysaccharide

Polysaccharides are relatively complex carbohydrates. They are polymers made up of many monosaccharides joined together by glycosidic bonds. They are therefore very large, often branched, macromolecules....
; a polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer in popular usage suggests plastic, the term actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a variety of properties....
produced by most plants and some microorganisms.

It occurs in various parts of nearly all classes of plant, usually in relatively small percentages, and is frequently associated with other substances, such as tannins and alkaloids.

Mucilage in plants is thought to aid in water storage and seed germination, and to act as a membrane thickener and food reserve.

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Encyclopedia

Mucilage is a polar

Chemical polarity

Glycoprotein

Not to be confused with peptidoglycan or proteoglycan.Glycoproteins are proteins that contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to their Peptide side-chains....
; an exopolysaccharide

Polysaccharide

Polymer

Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean region to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent....
seeds.

Mucilage has a unique purpose in some carnivorous plants. The plant genera

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
Drosera (Sundews), Pinguicula
Pinguicula

The butterworts are a group of carnivorous plants comprising the genus Pinguicula. Members of this genus use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environments....
, and others have leaves studded with mucilage-secreting glands, and use a "flypaper trap

Carnivorous plant

Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods....
" to capture insects.

Exopolysaccharides are the most stabilising factor for microaggregates and are widely distributed in soil

Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
s. Therefore exopolysaccharide-producing "soil algae" play a vital role in the ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
of the world's soils. The substance covers the outside of, for example, unicellular or filamentous

Filamentation

Filamentation is the anomalous growth of certain bacteria, such as E. coli, in which cells continue to elongate but do not divide . Bacterial filamentation is a defect in completing replication and is observed in bacteria responding to a various stresses....
green algae

Green algae

The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes emerged. As such, they form a paraphyletic group, although the group including both green algae and embryophytes is monophyletic ....
and cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or Cyanophyta, is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis....
. Amongst the green algae especially, the group Volvocales

Volvocales

In alpha taxonomy, the Volvocales are an order of flagellate or pseudociliate green algae, specifically of the Chlorophyceae. Volvocales can form planar or spherical colonies....
are known to produce exopolysaccharides in a certain part of their life cycle

Biological life cycle

A life cycle is a period involving one generation of an organism through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction....
.

Human uses

Mucilage is edible, but tastes rather bland. It is used in medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
for its demulcent

Demulcent

A demulcent is an agent that forms a soothing film over a mucous membrane, relieving minor pain and inflammation of the membrane. Demulcents such as pectin, glycerin, honey and syrup are common ingredients in cough mixtures....
properties. Traditionally marshmallows were made from the extract of the mucilaginous root of the marshmallow plant

Althaea officinalis

Althaea officinalis is a species native to Africa, which is used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant....
and due to the demulcent nature of the extract, worked as a cough suppressant. It is used as a type of glue for paper. Some carnivorous plants with mucilage are used for the traditional production of a dairy product in Sweden, called filmjölk

Filmjölk

Filmj?lk is a Sweden mesophilic fermented milk product that is made by fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacteria from the species Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides....
.

During the fermentation of natto

Natto

is a traditional Japanese cuisine made from fermentation soybeans, popular especially for breakfast. As a rich source of protein, natto and the soybean paste miso formed a vital source of nutrition in History of Japan#Feudal_Japan_.2812th_-_19th_century.29....
soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a Pulse . It is an annual plant that has been used in China for 5,000 years as a food and a component of drugs....
, extracellular enzymes produced by Bacillus natto react with soybean sugars to produce mucilage. The amount and viscosity of the mucilage are important natto characteristics and contribute to natto’s unique taste and smell.

Plant sources

The following plants are known to contain far greater concentrations of mucilage than is typically found in most plants:

Aloe vera
Aloe vera

Aloe vera, also known as the Medicinal Aloe, is a species of succulent plant that probably originated in northern Africa. The species does not have any naturally occurring populations, although closely related Aloes do occur in northern Africa....
Cactus
Cactus

A cactus is any member of the spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, but some are also Crop plants....
Chondrus crispus (Irish moss)
Dioscorea opposita
Dioscorea opposita

Dioscorea opposita is a type of yam that may be eaten raw.In Japanese, it is known as yamaimo . Furthermore, yamaimo is classified into nagaimo , ichoimo , or yamatoimo , depending on root shapes....
(Nagaimo, Japanese Mountain Yam)
Drosera (sundews)
Fenugreek
Fenugreek

Fenugreek is a plant in the family Fabaceae. Fenugreek is used both as an herb and as a spice . It is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop....
Flax
Flax

Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean region to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent....
seeds
Kelp
Kelp

Kelp are large seaweed plants , belonging to the brown algae and classified in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus. Some species can be very long and form kelp forests....
Liquorice
Liquorice

Liquorice or licorice is the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra , from which a sweet flavour can be extracted. The liquorice plant is a legume , related to Anise, Star Anise and Fennel and native to southern Europe and parts of Asia....
root
Marshmallow
Althaea (genus)

Althaea is a genus of 6-12 species of perennial plant herbs, including the Althaea officinalis plant whence marshmallow got its name, native to Europe and western Asia....
Mullein
Mullein

The Mulleins are a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the figwort family . They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region....
Okra
Okra

Okra , also known as ladyfinger and gumbo, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae , valued for its edible green fruits. Okra's binomial nomenclature is Abelmoschus esculentus; it is occasionally referred to by the synonym, Hibiscus esculentus L....
Parthenium
Parthenium

Parthenium is a genus in the family Asteraceae. Notable species in this genus include the Guayule. Native to tropical Americas, Parthenium is an aggressive weed invading all disturbed land, including farms, pastures, and roadsides....
Pinguicula
Pinguicula

The butterworts are a group of carnivorous plants comprising the genus Pinguicula. Members of this genus use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environments....
(butterwort)
Ulmus rubra bark (slippery elm)

An adhesive

Mucilage is also a term for an adhesive

Adhesive

Adhesive or glue is a compound in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adhesion or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or Chemical synthesis sources....
composed of a solution of a sticky vegetable product or vegetable gum

Natural gum

Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, Emulsion and Food additive#Categoriess....
in water, used primarily to seal paper

Paper

Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
(e.g., postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is adhesive paper evidence of a fee paid for Mail services. Usually a small rectangle attached to an envelope, the stamp signifies the person sending it has fully or partly paid for delivery....
s and envelope

Envelope

An envelope is a packaging product, usually made of flat material such as paper or cardboard, and designed to contain a flat object, which in a postal-service context is usually a letter , card or bills....
flaps).

External links

McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 5th edition
Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2007)