Polysaccharides of algae. 42. Composition and properties of agars from the Black Sea red seaweeds Gracilaria verrucosa (Huds.) Papenf. f. procerima and Gracilaria dura (Ag.). J. Ag

A. I. Usov, E. G. Ivanova

N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow

Abstract: Gel-forming galactans were isolated from Gracilaria verrucosa f. procerima and^: G. dura by three different procedures: 1) hot water extraction, 2) hot phosphate buffer pH 5,15 extraction, 3) hot water extraction after alkaline treatment with 1 M NaOH at 100° C for 1 h. The third procedure gave the best results in terms of the yield and gel-forming properties of the polysaccharides. According to chemical analyses and ¹³C-NMR spectral data, the galactans of both algae belong to the agar group and are similar in the composition and structure, but the polysaccharide of G. dura contains more 6-O-methyl-D-galactose residues and gives gel of a higher strength. The gel-forming properties of both polysaccharides exceed those of Difco bacto-agar. Based on the data obtained, both seaweeds may be considered as species of interest for mariculture.

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry 1990, 16 (11):1545-1551

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