Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series – Organic compounds – Carbohydrates or derivatives
Patent
1994-07-12
1996-03-26
Rollins, John W.
Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series
Organic compounds
Carbohydrates or derivatives
536123, 536128, C07G 1700, C07H 106
Patent
active
055021794
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for the production of a carrageenan product derived from seaweed and to a carrageenan product prepared by the method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Carrageenan is a complex mixture of sulphated polysaccharides comprising linear polymers of 1,3 bound .alpha.-D-galactose units and 1,4 bound .alpha.-D-galactose units with the following generalised structure: B(1.fwdarw.3.alpha.)A(1.fwdarw.4.beta.)B (1.fwdarw. The molecular weight of useful commercial carrageenan is generally from about 500,000 to about 1,000,000. Polymers with a molecular weight below about 100,000 are not generally classified as carrageenan. Carrageenan is used extensively in the food industry as an emulsifier, a gelling agent and a thickening agent.
Carrageenan is normally soluble in warm water, in which it forms high viscosity solutions, and insoluble in most organic solvents. All types of carrageenans form complexes with proteins.
Various types of carrageenan designated as kappa, iota, lambda, ny and my carrageenan are known. The different types are differentiated according to the nature of their repeating galactose units. The most important carrageenan types for commercial purposes are kappa, iota and lambda carrageenan (Kirk-Othmer (ed): Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 3rd edition, 1980, p. 53).
Portions of the polymer chains in some types of carrageenan (kappa/iota) can form double helix structures and thus a 3-dimensional network which results in gel formation. Carrageenan gels are thermoreversible. The temperature at which the transition from gel to sol occurs (the gel's melting point) is between 40.degree. C. and 70.degree. C., depending upon the concentration and presence of cations.
In aqueous solution, the various types of carrageenan react differently towards different cations as follows: Ba.sup.++, Sr.sup.++ and NH.sub.4.sup.+, and is insoluble in solutions containing these ions. The strongest gelation is achieved with K.sup.+. No gelation occurs with Na.sup.+, and Na salts are soluble. above. All salts are soluble. gelation is achieved with Ca.sup.++.
These properties can be employed for selective extraction of kappa/iota and lambda carrageenan (see, e.g., Smith et al., Can. J. Chem. 33, 1352 (1955)).
Carrageenan contains galactose units which are sulphated in the 6-position. These can be converted into 3,6-anhydro galactose units (elimination of sulphate by ring formation) by treatment with a base. The resulting carrageenan product containing 3,6-anhydro galactose units shows improved gel properties.
The polymer chains in carrageenan can be broken by treatment with an acid (hydrolytic depolymerization) or by treatment with hydrogen peroxide (oxidative depolymerization). By the above-mentioned base treatment and a hydrolytic or oxidative depolymerization, carrageenan products having optimum gelling properties and viscosity for specific purposes may be obtained.
Carrageenan is found in seaweed of the class Rhodophyceae (red algae) from which it can be isolated. Carrageenan does not exist as a free polymer in the red algae, but constitutes a part of the "skeleton" of the algae.
The occurrence and distribution of the various carrageenan types in Rhodophyceae is dependent on, among other things, the species, location and life cycle of the seaweed. Carrageenan is found in species belonging to the families Gigartinaceae and Solieriaceae and particularly in the species belonging to the genera Gigartina, Chondrus, Eucheuma and Iridaea.
Red algae of the family Gigartinaceae, e.g., Chondrus crispus and Gigartina stellata, synthesize kappa and lambda carrageenan in different growth stages: kappa carrageenan in the male and female stage and lambda carrageenan in the asexual growth stage. The lambda/kappa ratio in isolated carrageenan from a species of algae is thus effected by the relative dominance of one or the other growth stage at the time the algae is "harvested" as well as by the location at which the algae grows. By use of vegetative propagation of algae from a
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Grinsted Products A/S (Danisco A/S)
Rollins John W.
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