REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

A. Review of Related Literature

The Jamaican Cherry (Muntingia calabura), is a well-known multipurpose tree that
grows rapidly reaching a height of approximately 8 to 13 meters. The tree belongs to the family
Elaeocarpaceae and has attained a variety of vernacular names in the countries of Mexico,
Central and tropical South America, some islands of the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. As a
pioneer plant, it has the quality of thriving into poor soils and can also do well in acidic and
alkaline locations. The tree grows at ease with little or no care, and is widely distributed; making
it adapted to different soil types. It can resist harsh conditions such as drought and degraded soil,
but cannot tolerate high salinity. This medium-sized evergreen is known for its small, red, edible
fruits which are cultivated in many countries, yet, another significance is that it is largely valued
for its wood. Used as fuel, its timber, when dry, ignites quickly, generating intense heat and high
flames with very little smoke. It is lightweight and sturdy, durable enough for interior sheathing
and indoor carpentry use. Muntingia bark is usually stripped off and is recognized in yielding a
very strong, soft and silky fibre used for cordage, textiles and other handicrafts (Pendergrass,
2003).
A fibre is a thin, flexible strand of raw material, obtained either naturally from plants and
animals; or synthetically, from mineral sources. Fibres are linked by millions of molecular
chains, held together by natural forces. They differ in the lengths of their chains, and in the way
that they are lined up. Fibres can be spun into a filament such as thread, yarn, or a rope; woven,
knitted, matted or bonded. Greatly essential to humanity, it provides the starting point for all
manufacturing products such as textiles, fabrics, handicrafts, and as timber for building. Strength

of fibres gives it its capability in withstanding great pressure; elasticity, being able to stretch and
retain its original shape; and pliability, having bent without breaking. Other qualities include
water absorption, resistance to rot and mildew, and flame-retardant ability. Each property offers a
unique and specific application. Cotton, common hemp, sisal hemp, Manila hemp, bowstring
hemp, jute, kapok, flax, ramie and palm are some of the common recognized fibres (The New
Book of Knowledge, 2003).

Today, production of fibres, natural or synthetic is constantly being pushed to satisfy the
needs and demands of the industry. As a renewable resource,
Throughout the years, there is an increasing popularity of natural fibre composites. More
fibers are manufactured by the textile industry maintaining consistency of the fibre quality,
chemical content, structure, and form. B scientists and researchers had been continuously
probing on new sources for mass production of fibers. The main reasons for the increasing

popularity of biocomposites or natural fibre composites (NFCs) are the availability

and consistent quality of a wide range of fibres, and their environmental friendliness.
Always bearing in mind the required properties for our customers applications, our specialists select the
right types of fibre

Cellulose is an organic substance, a long-stranded polysaccharide that consists of as many

as several thousand linked glucose molecules. Largely responsible for plant structures, cellulose
also provides the basis of all natural and synthetic fibers. Linear chains of cellulose permit the
hydroxyl functional groups on each anhydro glucose unit to interact with hydroxyl groups on
adjacent chains through hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interaction (a consequence of

quantum dynamics, largely responsible for the attraction or repulsion of atoms, molecules and
surfaces, as well as intermolecular forces). These relatively strong intermolecular forces acting
upon chains, collectively with the high linearity of the molecule, account for the crystalline
nature of cellulosic fibers (Campbell, 2007). Cellulose is can be digested by only a few
microorganisms such as those that live in the digestive tract of cattle and termites. It is insoluble
in water and forms rigid structures with other cellulose molecules.( Peterson, 2009)

Natural cellulose fibers are fibers considered to be recognizable as being part of the
original plant. A natural fiber may be divided as an agglomeration of cells in which the diameter
is negligible in comparison with the length. They are sometimes manufactured as the basis of
synthetic fibers. Cotton, flax, ramie, hemp, kenaf and jute are commonly examples of natural
cellulosic fibers. Cellulose fibers show little interaction with water or any other solvent because
of tightly packed glucose units against the adjacent chains. Although nature abounds in fiber
materials, especially those of cellulosic types, only a small number can be used for textile
products or other industrial purposes (Ray, 2002)
Plant Fibers can both be found as a part of the primary or the secondary plant body. They
can be derivatives of the procambium, or even differentiate from the ground meristem. Fibers are
mostly cambial derivatives (those fiber bundles in the secondary phloem and xylem).
Regenerative fibers, those which differentiate from parenchyma cells after wounding. Several
types of fiber can be alive or dead. One-celled or multinucleate (Fahn, 1990). Many of which
have septa dividing them into small chambers. Short fibers may also be found less than 1mm

long, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, or may arrive at at average length of 55 cm, like Boehmeria
nivea (ramie).(Quesada, 2008). Plant fibers are classified typically from the part of the plant
from which it is used. It can be hard fibers-abaca and sisal; seed fibers-cotton and kapok;
regenerated fibers-soybean and bamboo, and bast fibers-nettle, hemp, ramie, linen and jute.
(Yadun, 2009).
Bast fibers are fibers collected from the inner bark or bast surrounding the stem of the
plant.

Alkali
Retting

B. Review of Related Studies

In the study of Lev-Yadun (2010) entitled Plant Fibers: Initiation, Growth, Model
Plants, and Open Questions, a review on plant fibers were studied based on their characteristics,
structure and uses, initiation and growth, development, and some of the major model plants :
Arabidopsis thaliana, Populus sp., Eucalyptus sp., flax, and hemp for fiber formation. The study
reveals that fiber differentiation can be divided into a number of main stages such as the
determination of cell fate to fiber and tissue patterning, elongation, deposition of a secondary
lignified cell wall, intrusive growth between other cells without elicitation of wound responses,
nuclear divisions and formation of coenocytes, programmed cell death. Complicated but
coordinated processes are induced by a combination of hormonal signals, mostly GA and auxin,
but with complicated molecular interactions.
This study relates to the present study because it encompasses information about
physiology of fiber differentiation, application of plant fibers, model plants for development, and
further researches about plant study.