jute as a fiber in pharmacy - source,cultivation,tests,uses

jute - fiber in pharmacy, IVth semester b pharm

2. Synonym
•Gunny
• Golden fiber
Biological Source
•It consists of phloem fibres from the stem of
various species of the Corchorus; C.
capsularis Linn, C. olitorius Linn, and other
species like C. cunninghamii, C. junodi etc.,
belonging to family Tiliaceae.

3. Geographical Source
West Bengal
Assam

4. Cultivation, collection and preparation
•Production and Processing of Fiber Jute is a
rainy season crop, sown from March to May
according to rainfall and type of land. Jute
requires a warm and humid climate with
temperature between 24ċ to 37ċ. The soil of
good depth, containing salts from annual
floods, is best for jute. The stalk diameter of
plant is ¾ inches.
•Cultivation Process Sowing of jute starts with
the showers in March or April and continues
till early June. Phosphorus, Potash &
Nitrogen fertilizers are used for this crop.

5. •Harvesting Process Jute is harvested any
time between 120 days to 150 days when
the flowers have been shed, early
harvesting gives good healthy fibers. The
harvested plants are left in the field for 3
days for the leaves to shed (means leaves
got dried up).
•Retting Process - Retting is a process in
which fibers get loosened due to
decomposition of hard cell walls by the
action of bacteria. The bundles are steeped
in water at least 60cm to 90cm depth.

7. Stripping Process (Fiber Extraction)
Stripping is the process of removing the
fibers from the stalk after the completion of
retting. Fibers are removed from the stalk
by any one of the following methods:
1.Single plants are taken and their
fibers are taken off.
2. Taken off a handful of stalks,
breaking it in a to and fro motion in water.

8. Washing Process
• Extracted fibers are washed in clean
water. The dark color of fibers can be
removed by dipping them in tamarind
water for 15 to 20 minutes and again
washed in clean water.
Drying Process
•The fibers are hung on bamboo railings for
sun drying for 2-3 days. After drying, the
fibers are ready to be sold in the market.

9. Bailing & Packing Process
• The bailing of jute fiber is done according
to grading system. The jute fibres are
graded according to its colour, strength
and fibre length. Packing into Kutcha bales
about 250 pounds for use in mills or jute
market.

11. Chemical Tests
Dye ability
 A thin transverse section of the strand
when treated with phuloroglucinol and HCl,
stains the strands deep red, indicating the
presence of lignin.These strands can be
separated by treating it with mixture of
potassium chloride and nitric acid.
Fibre gives a yellow stain with chlorzinc
iodide

12. Burning test
 Not melt, burn easily, smell like paper
burning, because paper is also a cellulosic
material.
Solubility
Jute is dissolved by H2SO4.
Effect of acids and alkalis
 Easily damaged by hot and cold
concentrated acids but resistant to alkali.

13. Effect of bleaching agent
Not effected by oxidizing and reducing
agent.
Effect of organic solvent
Resistance to organic solvent.

14. Chemical Constituents
Jute fibres are composed primarily of the
plant materials cellulose and lignin.
Jute is composed of about
50–53% cel- lulose
20% of hemicellulose
10–11% of lignin
along with other constituents like moisture
not more than 12–13%, fats, wax, and ash
contributing to 1% each.

15. Uses
•It has a large range of use (about 1,000 uses).
• It is listed as the second most important vegetable
fibre after cotton.
•Jute is used chiefly to make cloth for wrapping bales of
raw cotton, in the preparation of sacks and coarse
cloth.
•They are also woven into curtains, chair coverings,
carpets, Hessian cloth very fine threads of jute can be
made into imitation silk and also in the making of
paper.
•It is even used in the manufacture of tows, padding
splints, filtering, and straining medium. Jute is used for
the preparation of coarse bags.