Reinforcing rubber with 'isora' plant

摘要

Helicteres isora, commonly called 'East Indian Screw Tree' (so termed because of its screw-shaped fruits), is known among tradi-tional practitioners of Indian systems of medicine like Ayurveda for its high medicinal value in the treatment of diabetes, intestinal disorders, snake bite, etc. Commonly found in moist and deciduous forests in India and Sri Lanka, the dynamic mechanical properties of its stem bark for potential use as a rubber reinforcement material were not known to the world until Dr. Lovely Mathew, Selection Grade Lecturer of the Department of Chemistry, Newman College, Thodupuzha, Kerala, discovered it during her doctoral research in Cochin University of Science and Technology.