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A comparative study has been made of the jellying properties of tamarind seed polyose with those of certain fruit pectins in presence of varying amounts of sucrose and acid and it is shown that, with a concentration of the polyose about half that of fruit pectins, firm jellies are obtained under otherwise comparable conditions. The possibility of improving the texture of the polyose-sugar-acid jelly by pretreatment with mild acid or alkali or by methylation is indicated.

Several cases of respiratory disease, varying in severity from a dry cough to severe bronchospasm, have recently occurred in a few British textile factories. They appear to be connected with the use of ground tamarind seed as a sizing agent. Although the seed had been used extensively in India for this purpose, no untoward effects on health had been reported but shortly after its introduction into Great Britain cases began to appear. The worst effects were seen in certain weavers handling rayon but there were some cases also in those concerned with cutting the cotton velvet.

An outbreak of cough and dyspnoea among workers in textile factories was recently reported by Murray, Dingwall-Fordyce, and Lane (1957). A new sizing agent prepared from the kernel of the seed of Tamarindus indica had been introduced and it was thought that the condition was a reaction to a constituent of this size. The present investigation was designed to confirm that the illnesses were due to the size and to deter mine, if possible, the actual constituent responsible and the nature of the reaction.

The tamarind seed testa contains about 32 per cent. of tannins of which 35 per cent. is phlobatannin, the rest being mostly catechol tannin. The phlobatannin yields almost colourless methyl and acetyl derivatives which exhibit marked optical activity, supporting the idea that phlobatannins are probably hydroxy flavan derivatives.

(1952). The Composition of Tamarind Seed Kernel Powder. Journal of the Textile Institute Transactions: Vol. 43, No. 8, pp. T453-T454.