CHARACTERIZATION OF HEVEA BRASILIENSIS RUBBER FROM VIRGIN TREES: A POSSIBLE ROLE OF ^-POLYISOPRENE IN UNEXPLOITED TREE

The role of rubber in Hevea brasiliensis was analyzed based on the structural analysis of rubber in rubber trees as latex. The rubber obtained from a mature-tree which has never tapped before, so-called "virgin mature-tree" (Vir-NR), contained the gel fraction higher than 80%, while that from a regularly lapped mature-tree (Reg-NR) was less than 3%. The gel showed almost the same structure as a crosslinked rubber prepared from fresh latex in the presence of peroxide, with the molecular weight between crosslinks (Mc) of 3 * 10^3 This value is extremely low comparing with that of 7 * 10 ^5 observed for the soft-gel in rubber from high-ammonia latex and Pale crepe. The sol fraction from Vir-NR was an oxidative degraded product containing aldehyde and epoxide groups. Aging properties of Vir-NR are much worse than those of Reg-NR. This indicates that rubber accepts tree-radicals to form C-C erosslinking and partly oxidative scission of main-chains during storage in laticiferous cubes of Hevea trees. This suggests that a possible role of rubber is a scavenger of free-radicals in latex, due to lack of the naturally occurring antioxidants. The conseculive tappings of latex from the first opening mature-tree resulted in the formation of rubber similar to that obtained from Reg-NR, after six days. This modification indicates that the new regulation mechanisms in latex biosynthesis, which is induced by exploitation, can avoid the rubber chain crosslinkings and increase their elongations.