Читать книгу Polysaccharides - Группа авторов - Страница 97

Sudhakar Padmesh and Aditi Singh*

Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow Campus, Lucknow, India

Abstract

The roots of origination of agar belong to Japan. Agar was firstly known to come into the use in 1658. It was extracted from Gracilaria, an agarophyte seaweed which was used in food stuff back then. Agar was firstly introduced in far-east countries and later it was taken to the rest of the agarophyte producing countries. After so many uses of agar were introduced in Japan, it started to attract European countries and was introduced there in 1859 and then its use in microbiology study started in 1882. This comprehensive review describes the history of agar and uses of its seaweed worldwide, the production and origination of agar, industrial, biological uses as well as uses of agar in food industry. A substance made up of replicated molecules of repeated agarobiose units, is called agar. However agarose is a least substituted agar molecule with the highest gelling potential. The family of agar algae and its polysaccharide is dynamic. Physico-chemical and chemical properties defines the agar population through-out the algal families, and changes with the change in physicological, cellular and environmental grounds. Thus modifications in biochemistry of this molecule should be explicated. The chemical and molecular structure of agar, its fractions like agarose and agaropectin, the hydrogen bridges formed in its gelling formation, as well as a comparative study of types of agar derived from different seaweeds along with the different types of commercially produced agar food products will be discussed in this chapter.

Keywords: Gracillaria, agar, agaropectin, agarophyte, seaweed, hydrogen bridges