Abstract

Cattle hide was depilated by sodium sulphide and enzyme respectively. The histological structures during the unhairing stages were observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed that for sodium sulphide unhairing, the depilation began with the hydrolyzation of cytoplasm. The epidermis was damaged severely in the first 20 minutes and the epidermis could be dissolved completely in 60 minutes. The Basement Membrane (BM) and desmosome maintained integrity during the whole process. In enzymatic unhairing, the non-keratinised cells were seriously destroyed. The lamina lucida of BM was not noticeable after 30 minutes enzymatic treatment, while the lamina densa did not disappear until 120 minutes.