Submitted on July 28, 2005
Revised on August 5, 2005
Accepted on August 31, 2005
Evidence of a distinct lipid fraction in historical parchments: A potential role in degradation
Cristina Ghioni, Jennifer C. Hiller, Craig J. Kennedy, Abil E. Aliev, Marianne Odlyha, Mike Boulton, and Timothy J. Wess
School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB
Corresponding Author: wesstj{at}cardiff.ac.uk
Parchment, a biologically based material obtained from the processed hides of animals such as cattle and sheep, has been used for millennia as a writing medium. Whilst numerous studies have concentrated on the structure and degradation of collagen within parchment, little attention has been paid to non-collagenous components, such as lipids. In this study, we present the results of biochemical and structural analyses of historical and newly manufactured parchment, in order to examine the potential role that lipid plays in parchment stability. The lipid fraction extracted from the parchments displayed different fatty acid compositions between historical and reference material. Gas chromatography (GC), small angle X-ray scattering, and solid-state NMR were used to identify and investigate the lipid fraction from parchment samples, and study its contribution to collagen structure and degradation. We hypothesize that the origin of this lipid fraction is either intrinsic, due to incomplete fat removal in the manufacturing process, or extrinsic, due to microbiological attack on the proteinaceous component of parchments. Furthermore, we consider that the possible formation of protein-lipid complexes in parchment over the course of oxidative degradation may be mediated by reactive oxygen species formed by lipid peroxidation.
