Voted up and awesome...what a fascinating topic. Even though Dandelions are beautiful with their bright yellow color it is considered to be a weed. The plant has bright yellow flowers that are made of many tiny florets. "Once we've gotten the DNA strand just right, our next step is to pilot the grow in a cutting-edge vertical hydroponic system," ASR said. They are a diuretic, a substance that increases urine production and fluid removal from the body. Moreover, the dandelion is not just suitable for rubber production: the plant also produces substantial quantities of inulin, a natural sweetener. Question: What is the chemistry that is used for the formation of latex and inulin from dandelions? The phrase refers to the deeply divided leaves of the plant. Even without genetic engineering, though, it seems that Russian dandelions will be very helpful in producing rubber! Rubber dandelion could be a new source of natural rubber in the event of a sudden global shortage. Some people grow a plant called Ficus elastica in their home or garden. I appreciate your comment and the vote. Dandelion-derived latex has both the elasticity of natural rubber but lacks the allergens, making it an ideal alternative to rubber tree latex. However, scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Aachen have managed to identify the enzyme responsible for the rapid polymerisation and discovered how to switch it off. Improved methods of latex removal have been created to tackle the problem of rapid coagulation after a dandelion is wounded. Cooking the leaves reduces their bitterness. Family and friends will no longer laugh at my ideas when I show them this! The product isn't good enough to use commercially, however. The scientific name of the common dandelion is Taraxacum officinale. Scientist can stop the action of polyphenoloxidase by infecting the dandelion with a genetically engineered virus. They contain a large amount of inulin, a carbohydrate that is being added to a growing number of processed foods. Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on December 18, 2011: I like eating dandelion leaves, and I'll try eating some dandelion root next summer. This means that if the plants were to be cultivated on a large scale, every hectare would produce 500–1,000 kilogrammes of latex per growing season. You could contact someone involved in the production of the rubber to find out. Rubber prices have been in decline, sitting at multi-year lows, down almost 65% from the highs in 2011. My local farmers market sells dandelion leaves in the spring and early summer, which I buy for salads. It will be very interesting to see how much rubber is produced by Russian dandelions in the future! The virus removes the section of genetic code in the dandelion's DNA that is responsible for the production of the polymerization enzyme. She loves to study nature and write about living things. T. kok-saghyz was discovered in Kazakhstan in 1932 by the Soviet Union in an effort to find a domestic source of rubber. Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on October 08, 2013: Thank you very much for the comment and the votes, eugbug. Primejyothi, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 License. I love learning stuff like this. Hi, arusho. Tony Lawrence from SE MA on December 18, 2011: So cool. In addition, it can be fermented to make ethanol, which can then be used as a fuel. Beijing - Linglong Group Co. Ltd has pledged to invest $450 million to help set up a company in China dedicated to developing a commercially viable rubber derived from dandelion latex.The new company, tentatively named Linglong Dandelion Science and Technology Development Co., would help … Rubber is used to form thousands of different products, but the majority is used to make tires. Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on December 30, 2011: Hi, RTalloni. The extraction of latex from the plants was an expensive process, however. Young rubber trees (on the left) growing beside rice, Desmanthus4food, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 US License. Continental, one of the top global tire producers, claims to have built a tire made entirely from latex harvested from the Russian dandelion, but exact economics of production are not readily available. Once the para rubber supply was restored, the process of making rubber from dandelions ended. Researchers have optimized the Russian dandelion to … long pants, shoes plus socks and household latex or rubber gloves when applying this product. Such an interesting and useful hub! It is a challenge to get dandelions to grow where we want them to and prevent them from invading other areas, but like you I think that it's worth the effort! Very interesting article indeed!, Thanks for the great article and smooth flow. I was unaware that the world's rubber was on the decline. Inulin is mildly sweet but doesn't raise the blood sugar level. Wahler D, Gronover CS, Richter C, et al. The tires are equivalent to those made from Hevea natural rubber,” says Dr. Carla Recker of Continental. The use of Russian dandelions to produce rubber could soon become very important. Dandelion rubber as a solution to a global problem There are several reasons for attempts to produce natural rubber from other sources than the tropical Hevea Brasiliensis. The leaves are also rich in potassium, calcium, and iron. People in other countries are also growing the dandelions on an experimental basis, including some in the United States and Canada. The plants have many uses, both for individuals and for society. Christina Lornemark from Sweden on December 18, 2011: Very interesting article! This is one reason why plant identification is essential when foraging for food. Some people confuse inulin with insulin, but they are different substances. I suspect that the number of people growing dandelions - especially the Russian dandelion - will increase considerably in the near future! In several countries, people are planning to make rubber from the latex of the Russian dandelion, which is a relative of the common dandelion. (Body heat helps the rubber to form.) The researchers reckon that it will take them around five years to cultivate the optimised plants using conventional breeding techniques – and be ready to create dandelion rubber! The scientists involved in the research are said to be breeding the altered plants and trying to create large populations of dandelions that lack the problematic segment of DNA. Brilliant hub! They are a good source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) as well as vitamin C. Vitamin C is destroyed by heat, however. Multiple plants have flowers that resemble those of dandelions. (The tree recovers to be tapped again in the future.) To make the rubber, part of a finger is coated with dandelion latex. Sulphur and heat are often used to "vulcanize" rubber. The coagulation process is sped up by the addition of formic acid. A polymer is a long molecule made of smaller molecules joined together. Researchers are also trying to increase the yield of latex and to decrease the cost of rubber production. Russian dandelions were used to make rubber instead. It’s possible to make rubber from the common dandelion. Several rounds of selection resulted in a dandelion plant with a yield of 300 kg of rubber per year per hectare. Recently researchers have once again become interested in making rubber from Russian dandelions. DiIY Latex rubber from the humble dandelion. Yes, genetic engineering is a bit scary because it may have unexpected consequences. Wash the … The cultivation of the Russian dandelion (and perhaps of other latex-producing plants) may be the solution to the world's rubber supply problem. Dandelion rubber never did become commercially viable, and the Soviets abandoned the project after the war. Without vulcanization, rubber tends to melt in hot weather and become brittle in cold weather. So interesting to learn about this thanks. Cornish and Swiger have separately patented processes for separating the rubber from the inulin fiber. Common and Russian Dandelions: Nutrition, Latex, and Rubber But rubber? The chemical reaction between the rubber and the sulphur makes the rubber stronger and resistant to temperature changes. It's nice to meet you! You will see it as a milky liquid dripping from the plant when the plant is broken or snapped in two. The report of their discovery is quite old, however. Dandelions are often considered to be annoying weeds, especially when they grow on lawns. Common dandelions are edible and are often used as food. Latex is a complex, sticky mixture made of polymers and other substances dispersed in water. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/p... Linda Crampton (author) from British Columbia, Canada on November 26, 2017: Hi, Abbasi. Thank you, drbj! Researchers say that about ten percent of flowering plants produce latex. The components of latex include proteins, carbohydrates, oils, resins, and gums. One never know how a virus behave and what the consequences might be if it comes out in nature. Change clothing as soon as possible after use. Dandelions and many other plants produce latex. That would be a great use for dandelions! The Russian dandelion and possibly other types of dandelions may well become very important economically in the next few years. In the factories, the latex is shaped into sheets or placed in molds and solidified. The latex is allowed to coagulate to form rubber and is then carefully rolled off the finger. Next Wooden Bones In this activity, students dissolve the outer, woody material of the dried roots to gain access to the inner net of rubber. The roots of your average, found-in-the-meadow dandelion don’t contain enough latex to make it commercially worthwhile for rubber production. I know people use them in salads and we thought about harvesting ours, but wasn't sure if ours would be good in a salad. It does produce a latex that can be turned into rubber. What would be the yield in kg/hectare and the production cost compared to the rubber from Hevea? Taraxacum kok-saghyz, often abbreviated as TKS and commonly referred to as the Kazakh dandelion, rubber root, or Russian dandelion, is a species of dandelion native to Kazakhstan, Kirghizia and Uzbekistan, that is notable for its production of high quality rubber. 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