Rheological and Chemical Properties of Mucilage in Different Varieties from Linseed (Linum usitatissimum)

The rheological properties of linseed mucilage from different flax (Linum usitatissimum) varieties have been measured as well as the polysaccharide content and composition. The viscosity varied over a wide range from 0.02 to 0.28 Pas for 1% solutions. It increased with increasing concentration and decreased with increasing shear rate. Depending on the variety and the concentration, the mucilage could behave like a viscous fluid, viscoelastic fluid or as a nearly elastic body. Both the elasticity and the viscosity increased with increasing proportion of xylose residues and decreasing proportion of uronic acids in the polysaccharides.