Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (677 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A polysaccharide with glucose units linked as in cellobiose. It is the chief constituent of plant fibers, cotton being the purest natural form of the substance. As a raw material, it forms the basis for many derivatives used in chromatography, ion exchange materials, explosives manufacturing, and pharmaceutical preparations.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: alpha-Cellulose; alpha Cellulose; Polyanhydroglucuronic Acid; Acid, Polyanhydroglucuronic; Rayophane; Heweten; Avicel; Alphacel.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Glucans; Biopolymers
- Narrower topics
- Cellulose, Oxidized; Hypromellose Derivatives; Lignin; Cellobiose; DEAE-Cellulose; Methylcellulose; Cellophane; Collodion
- See also
- Cellophane; Paper
Related concepts
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 70,101 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Cellulose” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 22,459 of them (32.0%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 22,459 records.
Reviews account for 3,966 records (5.7%) and meta-analyses for 31. Randomized controlled trials number 739 (1.1%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 16,174 |
| 2000-2009 | 9,666 |
| 2010-2019 | 21,802 |
| 2020 onward | 22,459 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 3,966 | 5.7% |
| Meta-analyses | 31 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 739 | 1.1% |
Method: PubMed query "Cellulose"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synthesis of Lignin-Derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon via Hydrothermal-Phosphoric Acid Synergistic Activation for Enhanced Adsorption of Tetracycline | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 17 | cc by PMID 41683422 · DOI · PMC12899767 |
| Using Solid-State NMR to Understand the Structure of Plant Cellulose | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 11 | cc by PMID 41381423 · DOI · PMC12752684 |
| A Cotton Laccase Confers Disease Resistance Against Verticillium dahliae by Promoting Cell Wall Lignification | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 9 | cc by PMID 40657975 · DOI · PMC12257636 |
Synthesis of Lignin-Derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon via Hydrothermal-Phosphoric Acid Synergistic Activation for Enhanced Adsorption of Tetracycline [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Tetracycline is a low-cost broad-spectrum antibiotic and widely used in medicine and aquaculture.
- Closing excerpt
- This work proposes a feasible strategy to convert waste biomass into high-performance and environmentally friendly adsorbents, which provides technical feasibility for sustainable water purification technologies.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (192 words)
Tetracycline is a low-cost broad-spectrum antibiotic and widely used in medicine and aquaculture. Its residues are usually released into the environment through wastewater, which may lead to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and pose ecological risks. To address this environmental issue, a hierarchical lignin-derived porous carbon (LPHC) was synthesized using renewable biomass lignin as the precursor through a combined phosphoric acid-activated hydrothermal pretreatment. The resulting LPHC was used to effectively remove tetracycline from aqueous solutions. Characterization results indicated that LPHC had a high specific surface area (1157.25 m2·g-1), a well-developed micro-mesoporous structure, and abundant surface oxygen-containing functional groups, which enhanced its interaction with target pollutants. Adsorption experiments showed that LPHC exhibited excellent adsorption performance for tetracycline, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 219.81 mg·g-1. The adsorption process conformed to the Langmuir isotherm model, indicating that monolayer chemical adsorption was dominant. Mechanism analysis further confirmed that the adsorption process was controlled by multiple synergistic interactions, including pore filling, π-π electron donor-acceptor interactions, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic attraction. This work proposes a feasible strategy to convert waste biomass into high-performance and environmentally friendly adsorbents, which provides technical feasibility for sustainable water purification technologies.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41683422 · DOI · PMC12899767
Using Solid-State NMR to Understand the Structure of Plant Cellulose [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The structure of plant cellulose microfibrils remains elusive, despite the abundance of cellulose and its utility in industry.
- Closing excerpt
- These advances substantially change both the interpretation of solid-state NMR studies of cellulose and the understanding of cellulose microfibril structure and crystallinity.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (249 words)
The structure of plant cellulose microfibrils remains elusive, despite the abundance of cellulose and its utility in industry. Using 2D solid-state NMR of 13C-labeled never-dried plants, six major glucose environments are resolved, which are common to the cellulose of softwood, hardwood, and grasses. These environments are maintained in isolated holocellulose nanofibrils, allowing more detailed microfibril characterization. We show that there are only two glucose environments that reside within the microfibril core. These have the same NMR 13C chemical shifts as tunicate cellulose Iβ center and origin chains, with no cellulose Iα being detected. The third major glucose site within spectral domain 1, previously assigned to the crystalline microfibril interior, is in close proximity to water, which could indicate that it is a surface glucose environment. The NMR peak widths of all four surface glucose environments are similar to those of the core, indicating that their glucose local order is comparable; there is no significant "amorphous" cellulose in the microfibrils. Consequently, the ratio of the carbon 4 peaks at ∼89 and ∼84 ppm, which has often provided a sample cellulose crystallinity index, is not a meaningful measure of fibril crystallinity or the interior to surface ratio. The revised ratio for poplar wood microfibrils is estimated to be 1:2, which is consistent with an 18-chain microfibril having 6 core and 12 surface chains, although other microfibril sizes are possible. These advances substantially change both the interpretation of solid-state NMR studies of cellulose and the understanding of cellulose microfibril structure and crystallinity.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41381423 · DOI · PMC12752684
A Cotton Laccase Confers Disease Resistance Against Verticillium dahliae by Promoting Cell Wall Lignification [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Verticillium wilt (VW), caused primarily by Verticillium dahliae, is a significant threat to cotton production.
- Closing excerpt
- Our findings suggest that GhLAC14-3 is a promising target for enhancing VW resistance, as its interaction with GhMAPKKK2 at the cell membrane modulates defence-induced lignification.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (236 words)
Verticillium wilt (VW), caused primarily by Verticillium dahliae, is a significant threat to cotton production. Lignification of the plant cell wall, a defence response triggered by pathogen invasion, is critical for plant resistance to numerous diseases. Laccases are known to participate in the lignification of secondary cell walls, but their role in cotton resistance to V. dahliae is not fully understood. In this study, we identified a cotton laccase gene, GhLAC14-3, that was significantly upregulated during early V. dahliae infection and was closely related to a gene previously reported to respond to V. dahliae infection in Arabidopsis. Silencing of GhLAC14-3 in cotton increased disease susceptibility and reduced lignin deposition and the expression of lignin-related genes. By contrast, overexpression of GhLAC14-3 in transgenic Arabidopsis increased lignin content and the expression of lignin-related genes, thereby enhancing VW resistance. We identified an interaction between GhLAC14-3 and the mitogen-activated protein kinase GhMAPKKK2 at the cell membrane. GhMAPKKK2 expression was also significantly induced by V. dahliae infection in cotton, and its overexpression in Arabidopsis activated multiple key resistance genes, thus improving V. dahliae resistance. Transient co-expression of GhMAPKKK2 and GhLAC14-3 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves significantly increased lignin content. Conversely, silencing of AtMAPKKK2, the homologue of GhMAPKKK2, in GhLAC14-3-overexpressing Arabidopsis reduced both lignin levels and disease resistance. Our findings suggest that GhLAC14-3 is a promising target for enhancing VW resistance, as its interaction with GhMAPKKK2 at the cell membrane modulates defence-induced lignification.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 40657975 · DOI · PMC12257636
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Structure and growth of plant cell walls [4]
- Research article Antibacterial mechanism of lignin and lignin-based antimicrobial materials in different fields [5]
- Research article Nanocellulose-based hydrogels as versatile materials with interesting functional properties for tissue engineering applications [6]
- Research article Recent advances in cellulose- and alginate-based hydrogels for water and wastewater treatment: A review [7]
- Research article Metaanalysis of the safety and efficacy of an adhesion barrier (Interceed TC7) in laparotomy [8]
- Research article Accessing monomers from lignin through carbon-carbon bond cleavage [9]
References
- Li X, Li Y, Li Y, Zhang M, Zhu J. Synthesis of Lignin-Derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon via Hydrothermal-Phosphoric Acid Synergistic Activation for Enhanced Adsorption of Tetracycline. . 2026. PMID 41683422 · DOI · PMC12899767
- Cresswell R, Deralia PK, Yoshimi Y, Kuga T, Echevarría-Poza A, Franks WT, et al.. Using Solid-State NMR to Understand the Structure of Plant Cellulose. . 2025. PMID 41381423 · DOI · PMC12752684
- Cheng G, Li C, Zhang G, Fernando WGD, Bi Y, Lei J, et al.. A Cotton Laccase Confers Disease Resistance Against Verticillium dahliae by Promoting Cell Wall Lignification. . 2025. PMID 40657975 · DOI · PMC12257636
- Cosgrove DJ. Structure and growth of plant cell walls. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2024. PMID 38102449 · DOI
- Li K, Zhong W, Li P, Ren J, Jiang K, Wu W. Antibacterial mechanism of lignin and lignin-based antimicrobial materials in different fields. Int J Biol Macromol. 2023. PMID 37572815 · DOI
- Tamo AK. Nanocellulose-based hydrogels as versatile materials with interesting functional properties for tissue engineering applications. J Mater Chem B. 2024. PMID 38805188 · DOI
- Radoor S, Karayil J, Jayakumar A, Kandel DR, Kim JT, Siengchin S, et al.. Recent advances in cellulose- and alginate-based hydrogels for water and wastewater treatment: A review. Carbohydr Polym. 2024. PMID 37940239 · DOI
- Wiseman DM, Trout JR, Franklin RR, Diamond MP. Metaanalysis of the safety and efficacy of an adhesion barrier (Interceed TC7) in laparotomy. J Reprod Med. 1999. PMID 10319300
- Palumbo CT, Ouellette ET, Zhu J, Román-Leshkov Y, Stahl SS, Beckham GT. Accessing monomers from lignin through carbon-carbon bond cleavage. Nat Rev Chem. 2024. PMID 39367248 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.