mucilage

1. A sticky substance used as an adhesive.
2. A gummy substance obtained from certain plants.

[Middle English muscilage, gelatinous plant substance, from Old French mucilage, from Late Latin mūcilāgō, mūcilāgin-, from Latin mūcēre, to be musty, from mūcus, mucus.]

A naturally occurring, high-molecular-weight (200,000 and up), organic plant product of unknown detailed structure. The term is loosely used, often interchangeably with the term gum. Chemically, mucilage is closely allied to gums and pectins but differs in certain physical properties. Although gums swell in water to form sticky, colloidal dispersions and pectins gelatinize in water, mucilages form slippery, aqueous colloidal dispersions. Mucilages are formed in normal plant growth within the plant by mucilage-secreting hairs, sacs, and canals, but they are not found on the surface as exudates as a result of bacterial or fungal action after mechanical injury, as are gums. Mucilages occur in nearly all classes of plants in various parts of the plant, usually in relatively small percentages, and are not infrequently associated with other substances, such as tannins. The chief industrial sources of mucilages are Icelandic and Irish moss, linseed, locust bean, slippery elm bark, and quince seed. See also Adhesive; Gum; Pectin.

Soluble but undigested complexes of the sugars arabinose and xylose found in some seeds and seaweeds; used as thickening and stabilizing agents in food processing by virtue of their water-holding and viscous properties. See also gum; ispaghula.

1. An adhesive prepared from a gum and water.
2. A liquid adhesive which has low bonding strength.

An aqueous solution of a gummy substance, used as a vehicle or demulcent.

A sundew with a leaf bent around a fly trapped by mucilage.

Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by most plants and some microorganisms. It is a polar glycoprotein and an exopolysaccharide.

It occurs in various parts of nearly all classes of plant, usually in relatively small percentages, and is frequently associated with other substances, such as tannins and alkaloids.

Mucilage in plants is thought to aid in water storage and seed germination, and to act as a membrane thickener and food reserve. Among the richest sources are cacti (and other succulents) and flax seeds.

Mucilage has a unique purpose in some carnivorous plants. The plant genera Drosera (Sundews), Pinguicula, and others have leaves studded with mucilage-secreting glands, and use a "flypaper trap" to capture insects.

Exopolysaccharides are the most stabilising factor for microaggregates and are widely distributed in soils. Therefore exopolysaccharide-producing "soil algae" play a vital role in the ecology of the world's soils. The substance covers the outside of, for example, unicellular or filamentous green algae and cyanobacteria. Amongst the green algae especially, the group Volvocales are known to produce exopolysaccharides in a certain part of their life cycle.

Contents 1 Human uses 2 Plant sources 3 See also 4 External links

Human uses

Mucilage is edible, but tastes rather bland. It is used in medicine for its demulcent properties. Traditionally marshmallows were made from the extract of the mucilaginous root of the marshmallow plant and due to the demulcent nature of the extract, worked as a cough suppressant. Because it is sticky, it is mixed with water to create a type of glue for paper (e.g., postage stamps and envelope flaps). Some carnivorous plants with mucilage are used for the traditional production of a dairy product in Sweden, called filmjölk.

During the fermentation of natto soybean, extracellular enzymes produced by Bacillus natto react with soybean sugars to produce mucilage. The amount and viscosity of the mucilage are important natto characteristics and contribute to natto’s unique taste and smell.

Plant sources

The following plants are known to contain far greater concentrations of mucilage than is typically found in most plants:

• Aloe vera
• Basella alba (Malabar Spinach)
• Cactus
• Chondrus crispus (Irish moss)
• Dioscorea opposita (Nagaimo, Japanese Mountain Yam)
• Drosera (sundews)
• Fenugreek
• Flax seeds
• Kelp
• Liquorice root
• Marshmallow
• Mullein
• Okra
• Parthenium
• Pinguicula (butterwort)
• Salvia hispanica (chia) seed
• Ulmus rubra bark (slippery elm)

See also

• Marine mucilage

External links

Look up mucilage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Mucilage McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 5th edition
• Mucilage Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2007)
•  "mucilage". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - [bot.] planteslim, gummi

Nederlands (Dutch)
vloeibare lijm, slijm

Français (French)
n. - mucilage

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Pflanzen)schleim, Gummilösung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φαρμακολ.) γλίσχρασμα

Italiano (Italian)
mucillagine

Português (Portuguese)
n. - mucilagem (f)

Русский (Russian)
растительная слизь, растительный клей

Español (Spanish)
n. - mucílago

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (växt)slem, mucilago (med.), gummi(lösning)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
黏质物, 胶水, 黏液

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 黏質物, 膠水, 黏液

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 점액

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 粘液, ゴムのり

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دبق, إفراز دبق, لزيق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דבק צמחים, ריר‬

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