Preparation, characterization and benchmarking of agarose from Gracilaria dura of Indian waters

Preparation of galactans from Gracilaria debilis and Gracilaria salicornia (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) of Indian waters

“…Extraction of alkali-treated galactan Alkali pre-treatment was carried out using 10% aqueous NaOH solutions following the procedure described previously for Gracilaria species (Meena et al 2007). Samples of G. debilis and G. salicornia (20 g dry each) were soaked in 600 mL tap water for 1 h at room temperature and then treated with 600 mL aqueous NaOH at 80°C in a water-bath for 2 h. After the alkali treatment, excess alkali was removed by water washing until the washings showed pH in the range of 7-8.…”

Natural polymers for the microencapsulation of cells

“…Agarose is a polysaccharide derived from the cell wall of a group of red algae (Rhodophyceae), including Gelidium and Gracilaria [54]. The plant is harvested and agarose is extracted after a series of purification and homogenization steps [55]. The main structure of agarose consists of alternating units of b-D-galactopyranose and 3,6-anhydro-a-L-galactopyranose.…”

Reproductive Processes in Red Algal Genus Gracilaria and Impact of Climate Change

“…About 5,800 distinct species have been described in this class (Brodie and Zuccarello, 2007) with a few having immense commercial potential. Some red algal species are edible (Dippakore et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2008), while others are used for the extraction of industrially important phycocolloids such as agar and carrageenan (Zemke-White and Ohno, 1999;Meena et al, 2007). Although in most of the cases, naturally occurring biomass has been harvested for industrial use, the cultivation practice is considerably on the rise for the last couple of decades to meet the surging global market demand (Hanisak, 1998;Ganesan et al, 2006;Subba Rao and Mantri, 2006).…”