How the AIDS Epidemic Brought a Forgotten Desert Plant Back | Technology

By JasonLancaster
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Since the beginning of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, members of the medical profession wear latex gloves as diligently as they do scrubs. With this increased use of protective wear, health care workers noticed more and more how the material irritated their skin and developed latex allergies.

Latex allergies are marked by itchy eyes, sneezing, coughing, rash, tight chest, shock and even life-threatening illness. Health care providers with allergy to latex struggled for a compromise. Without the gloves they were at a higher risk of contracting HIV and with the gloves they were uncomfortable, possibly even ill. Using natural rubber latex that is hypoallergenic is the solution.

Commonly referred to as hevea, most natural rubber latex is often derived from the para rubber tree. Hevea, which is grown in tropical climates, absorbs a variety of tropical proteins. Because of these proteins hevea is the cause of this latex allergy and, therefore, hevea, the world's most common source of rubber, cannot be used to produce hypoallergenic latex.

Commonly used to produce hypoallergenic rubber, synthetic rubber is derived from petroleum. Manufacturers took another look at the guayule plant with rising oil prices and a demand for an environmentally-friendly and natural alternative. Guayule, which is a natural source for hypoallergenic rubber and does not contain any of the tropical proteins found in hevea, grows in the southwest region of the United States and northern Mexico.

Guayule's use as a source for hypoallergenic natural rubber is important-nearly 10 percent of the population has a hevea-based latex allergic reaction. But the guayule plant is more than just a hypoallergenic latex source-it's also a cash crop excellent for arid regions. It's so sturdy that it can grow successfully in the desert, and it doesn't require pesticides or irrigation. It also can be used as a feed stock for ethanol production.

Guayule rubber is surprisingly nothing new. Using guayule, Native Americans made rubber balls. Rubber was made from guayule because of a leaf blight outbreak that destroyed the rubber trees in Brazil in the 1920s. Guayule was used to produce latex in the 1940s because the war with Japan made it impossible to import rubber from Malaysia. Quickly after World War II ended and Brazilian trees recovered from the leaf blight, guayule rubber as a source of domestic rubber was abandoned. Despite guayule's natural allure, rubber producers in Southeast Asia were able to produce rubber more economically, and lobbyists worked to keep oil-based synthetic rubber on the market.

Then things changed again. Beginning in the 1970s, U.S. policy makers-in response to the oil embargo-began to look at alternatives to oil-based synthetic rubber. Guayule research and development began once again.

Enter the 1980s when the problem with latex allergies became unavoidable because of AIDS. With the demand being so high then and still now, guayule natural rubber is an invaluable product for anyone requiring hypoallergenic products.

About the Author

Author Jason Lancaster is an avid fan of emerging biotechnology agriculture. Learn more about guayule at GuayuleBlog.com.

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