In the past decade, scientists have studied carrageenans for what could turn out to be even more important uses: antiviral medications. The three major carrageenans have widely different gelling properties: Calcium ι-carrageenan forms soft gels potassium κ-carrageenan forms rigid gels and the λ-structure does not gel at all. They are also additives to common household products such as toothpaste, shampoo, air fresheners, and shoe polish. Historically, carrageenans have been used as thickening, gelling, emulsifying, stabilizing, and clarifying agents in food products ranging from ice cream to beer. Tseng at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (La Jolla, CA) also wrote extensively about carrageenin and other algae-derived compounds. Rice at Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS) were among the first to describe carrageenans in the chemical literature (then by the name carrageenin), although they cited references to them as far back as 1844. ι- and κ-carrageenan occur in double-helix conformations. The counterions of the anionic carrageenans are typically sodium, potassium, and/or calcium. The ι-form, shown here, is found primarily in the alga Eucheuma denticulatum.Īll carrageenan polymers consist of repeating units of galactopyranose disaccharides, each of which contains zero, one, two, or three sulfate groups.
At least 10 carrageenans are known the best known and most important ones are ι (iota)-, κ- 2, and λ- 3carrageenan. The carrageenans are a group of linear sulfated polysaccharides found in red algae 1 of the phylum Rhodophyta.
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