Determination of Natural Rubber Content in Taraxacum Kok-saghyz by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Nowadays, natural rubber (NR) is an indispensable material for industrial production and peoples' daily utilization. The root of Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS) contains a large amount of NR, which is potentially to be an alternative rubber source of conventional Hevea brasiliensis (HB). In order to find a convenient, fast and green method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of NR in TKS, a pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (Py-GCMS) method was developed accordingly. The results indicated that the main products of TKS rubber after pyrolysis were isoprene and limonene, respectively, and the limit of detection (LOD) of TKS rubber was 2.603 mg/g. The ratios of NR mass fractions in TKSs by Py-GC-MS ranged from 1.20% +/- 0.20% to 8.61% +/- 0.28%. The developed method has been used for determination of actual TKS samples and can be further applied to the field test for rapid breeding and large-scale cultivation of TKS thereof.