Agro-based fibers are classified according to what part of the plant they come from. Five different fiber classifications will be used in this report: (1) bast or stem fibers, which are the fibrous bundles in the inner bark of the plant stem running the length of the stem; (2) leaf fibers, which run the length of leaves; (3) seed-hair fibers; (4) core, pith or stick fibers, which form the low d...

The structure of lignins isolated from the herbaceous plants sisal ( Agave sisalana), kenaf ( Hibiscus cannabinus), abaca ( Musa textilis) and curaua ( Ananas erectifolius) has been studied upon spectroscopic (2D-NMR) and chemical degradative (derivatization followed by reductive cleavage) methods. The analyses demonstrate that the structure of the lignins from these plants is highly remarkable...

The purpose of this study is to clone and characterize the expression pattern of a F5H gene encoding ferulate 5-hydroxylase in the phenylpropanoid pathway from kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.). Kenaf is a fast-growing dicotyledonous plant valued for its biomass. F5H, a cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase (CYP84), is a key enzyme for syringyl lignin biosynthesis. The full length of the F5H ort...

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) from the family Malvaceae, is a valuable fiber plant native to India and Africa and is currently planted as the fourth commercial crop in Malaysia. Kenaf seed oil contains alpha-linolenic acid, phytosterol such as β -sitosterol, vitamin E, and other antioxidants with chemopreventive properties. Kenaf seeds oil (KSO) was from supercritical carbon dioxide extraction fl...

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.), an environmental friendly and economic fiber crop, has a certain tolerance to abiotic stresses. Identification of reliable reference genes for transcript normalization of stress responsive genes expression by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) is important for exploring the molecular mechanisms of plants response to abiotic stresses. In this study, nine candida...

A sequential solvent extraction scheme was employed for the extraction of antioxidant compounds from kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seeds. Yield of extracts varied widely among the solvents and was the highest for hexane extract (16.6% based on dry weight basis), while water extract exhibited the highest total phenolic content (18.78 mg GAE/g extract), total flavonoid content (2.49 mg RE/g ext...

The purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of root-knot nematode infection on the growth of kenaf. Seeds of sixteen (16) varieties of kenaf, comprising of eight from Australia, three local and five accessions from Bangladesh were planted under controlled condition and inoculated with four level of 0, 1000, 5000 and 10000 RKN eggs per plant. The growth parameters of height, sta...

The efficiency and dynamics of simultaneous kenaf biomass decomposition by basidiomycetous fungi and actinobacteria were investigated. After 8weeks of incubation, up to 34wt.% of the kenaf biomass was degraded, with the combination of fungi and bacteria being the most efficient. Lignin decomposition accounted for ∼20% of the observed biomass reduction, regardless of the culture used. The remain...

Bast fibers from stems of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus, L.), a warm-season tropical herbaceous annual plant, were dispersed into poly-L-lactide (PLLA) matrix by melt-mixing followed by compression molding. Low fiber fractions (1–5%) were investigated. The composites showed a slight lowering of thermal stability when evaluated by thermogravimentric analysis. X-ray diffraction and differential scan...

Kenaf (Hibiscus Cannabinus) fibers have received significant attention for replacing the usage of synthetic fibers, especially glass fiber, in fabrication fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. The aim this research was to study change wear behavior kenaf-epoxy fiber composites by filling them with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). In particular, effect untreated MWCNT (PMWCNT), acid-trea...