University:
Amherst College
Course:
BIOL 104 | Food, Fiber, and Pharmaceuticals
Academic year:

2021
Views:

334

Pages:

13
Author:

nomkayiser6y

Outline  Basic anatomy and background of Chondrus crispus  Review of carrageenan and its uses  Harvesting  Processing  Why we care about algae  The Future of Carrageenan What is Irish Moss?  Chondrus crispus and Gigartina stellata are often processed together as Irish Moss  Found in the North Atlantic  Newfoundland to New Jersey  Norway to North African coast  Just below the water to 20‐30 feet deep  Choppy wave action gives it short branches Anatomy of Irish Moss • Red algae, colored by • • • • • • • phycobiliproteins Relatively small, slightly resembles parsley Membranaceous and dichotomously branched Short stipe and small holdfast About 80% water, 20% gelatinous material Negligible amounts of vitamins, nitrogen, calcium, fats Large number of minerals, nutritive Major source of carrageenan! What is Carrageenan?  A hydrophilic sulfated polyanionic phycocolloid  Simply, a gel‐like substance used in suspension of liquids composed of two galactose sugars  Main structural component of cell walls  20‐40% ester sulfates Structure of Carageenan Main Types of Carrageenan  λ‐carrageenan  Not sensitive to cations  Viscous, non‐gelling solutions  κ‐carrageenan  Potassium sensitive  Brittle gels  ι‐carrageenan  Calcium sensitive  Elastic gels  Three others are precursors to these ﬁnal types Uses of Carrageenan               Dairy products Baby foods Dietetic foods Instant foods Pastries and candy Cosmetics Textiles Industrial gels Viscosity control Beer foam stabilizer Aging of spirits Bakery products Sausage Antibiotic ice               Puddings and jellies Tanning industry Personal hygiene products Pharmaceutical tablets Cough syrup Popsicles Mineral emulsions Clariﬁer of alcoholic beverages Soft drinks Fruit juice Cake and pie ﬁllings Caramels Condiments and dressings Canned ﬁsh and meat Harves=ng  Major U.S. suppliers  Scituate and Kingston, MA  Rockland and Portland, ME  Other suppliers in Ireland, France, and Canada  Harvesting originated in Ireland, then introduced to the US in 1835  Season runs May through September  Higher concentrations of carrageenan due to active metabolism  During ebb tide, specialized rakes are used to scrape the algae oﬀ rocks and onto small boats Processing  Washed in sea‐water, dried and bleached with sulﬁtes      or sun Mainly unbleached‐ increases output of carrageenan Salts control the gelling process so the plants must be protected from rainwater Carrageenan is extracted by water extraction, i.e. diﬀusion The addition of potassium makes a stronger gel Gel extract marketed and sold Why do we care?  Industry prominently based in United States  Algae responsible for half of all oxygen production  Carrageenan is in everything…  Potential medical treatments The Future of Carrageenan  Passes through digestive system unaltered, adding no caloric value to foods  6% utilization in humans (Swartz, 1994)  However, has high nutritive value  Antiviral, antitumor, anticoagulant, and immunomodulation activities discovered (Schaeﬀer and Krylov, 2000; Zhou et al., 2004, 2005) Ques%ons

Chondrus Crispus and Carrageenan

Related Documents

Description

Related Documents

Free up your schedule!

Take 5 seconds to unlock