guazuma

Much of the beneficial effect of the mucilage of the _guazuma_ arises probably from an admixture of tannin, or some other astringent; for I have often been struck with the peculiar whiteness of the potted sugar in the curing-house, in the immediate vicinity of the Banana stalks, resulting, no doubt, from their powerful astringency; and tannin has already been found useful in the manufacture of sugar from beet-root in France, and is no doubt equally applicable to cane-sugar.

The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. P. L. Simmonds