TITLE:
An Improved Method for Fractionation of Small Quantities of Lettuce Latex
AUTHORS:
Thomas A. McKeon, Jenny Brichta
KEYWORDS:
Resin, Rubber, Isoprenoids, Lactuca sativa L. Solvent Extraction
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.9 No.10,
September
12,
2018
ABSTRACT: While large quantities of
latex can be handled either by standard extraction techniques such as Soxhlet
extraction or accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), smaller samples on the
order of 0.3 - 0.5 g
require handling on a microscale. We collected latex from lettuce plants in
microcentrifuge tubes and, after drying under vacuum, resuspended the dried
sample in acetone by holding in an ultrasonic cleaner. The resulting fine
suspension was readily extracted with acetone and toluene to provide fractions
representing the resin and rubber content of the latex. Using this approach, we
compared latex from stems of bolting lettuce and from the floral stem of
lettuce plants. While both types of stems contained a similar percentage of
resin, the rubber content of the bolting stems exceeded that of the floral
stems.