Complex rheological properties of a water-soluble extract from the fronds of the black tree fern, Cyathea medullaris

A water-soluble extract was obtained from the fronds of a New Zealand native black tree fern (Cyathea medullaris or Mamaku in Maori). The extract exhibited complex theological behavior. Newtonian, shear-thinning, shear-thickening, thixotropic, antithixotropic, and viscoelastic behaviors were observed depending on polymer concentration, shear rate, and shear history. The extract also displayed rod-climbing and self-siphoning properties typical of viscoelastic fluids. Such complex theological properties have been reported in synthetic or chemically modified polymers but are less frequent in unmodified biopolymers. Although Mamaku extract obtained from the pith of the fern has been traditionally used by the Maori in New Zealand for treating wounds and diarrhea among other ailments, this material has never been characterized before. This study reports on the chemical composition of the extract and on its viscoelastic properties through rotational and oscillatory theological measurements. Explanations of the mechanism behind the theological properties were based on transient network models for associating polymers.