The proteins of <i>Hevea brasiliensis</i> latex. 4. Isolation and characterization of crystalline hevein

Abstract

Fresh rubber latex obtained from Hevea bra8iliensis consists of a suspension of several types of particles in an aqueous serum, and can be separated into fractions by high-speed centrifuging (Cook & Sekhar, 1953). The top layer in the centrifuge tube consists mainly of rubber particles, below which is a layer of almost clear serum. At the bottom of the tube is a layer referred to in this paper as the 'bottom fraction', which contains sedimentable bodies including the lutoid particles described by Homans & van Gils (1948).