XVI.—The chemistry of bast fibres

Not Only Delicious: Papaya Bast Fibres in Biocomposites

Previous studies have shown favourable properties for papaya bast fibres, with a Young's modulus of up to 10 GPa and a tensile strength of up to 100 MPa. Because the fibres remain as residues on papaya plantations across the tropics in large quantities, their use in the making of green composites would seem to be worthy of consideration. This study aims to show that such composites can have ver...

Mechanical processing of bast fibres: the occurrence of damage and implication for fibre structure

Impact of Silicon in Plant Biomass Production: Focus on Bast Fibres, Hypotheses, and Perspectives

Silicon (Si) is an abundant element which, when supplied to plants, confers increased vigor and resistance to exogenous stresses, as well as enhanced stem mechanical strength. Plant species vary in their ability to take Si up and to accumulate it under the form of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) in their tissues: emblematic of this is the example of Poales, among which there is rice, a high Si accumulat...

Extraction of High Quality RNA from Cannabis sativa Bast Fibres: A Vademecum for Molecular Biologists

In plants there is no universal protocol for RNA extraction, since optimizations are required depending on the species, tissues and developmental stages. Some plants/tissues are rich in secondary metabolites or synthesize thick cell walls, which hinder an efficient RNA extraction. One such example is bast fibres, long extraxylary cells characterized by a thick cellulosic cell wall. Given the ec...

Determining the fibrillar orientation of bast fibres with polarized light microscopy: the modified Herzog test (red plate test) explained

The identification of bast fibre samples, in particular, bast fibres used in textiles, is an important issue in archaeology, criminology and other scientific fields. One of the characteristic features of bast fibres is their fibrillar orientation, referred to as Z- or S twist (or alternatively right- and left-handed fibres). An empirical test for determining the fibrillar orientation using pola...