Seasonal variation of agar from Gracilaria vermiculophylla, effect of alkali treatment time, and stability of its Colagar

Mario Antonio Vergara-Rodarte, Gustavo Hernández-Carmona, Y. Elizabeth Rodríguez-Montesinos, Dora Luz Arvizu-Higuera, Rafael Riosmena-Rodríguez, Jesús Iván Murillo-Álvarez

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27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Gracilaria vermiculophylla, from Baja California Sur, Mexico, was studied in order to determine the seasonal variation of yield and quality of native and alkaline agar during 2007-2008. The highest alkaline agar yield was obtained in summer (17%) and the highest gel strength in spring (1,132 g cm-2). The highest melting temperature was 98°C (winter). The highest gelling temperature was 68°C (summer). The values obtained are within the range of the most important Gracilaria species harvested worldwide. During the agar extraction step, the best results were obtained after 30 min of alkali treatment with sodium hydroxide (7%), after which the quality decreased significantly. We produced Colagar from G. vermiculophylla which consists of the seaweeds treated with sodium hydroxide and dried. The yield and quality of the agar obtained from the Colagar shows stability in both yield and quality during 1 year of storage, suggesting that alkali treatment is a good method of avoiding agar hydrolysis during storage.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)753-759
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Applied Phycology
Volume22
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Agar
  • Baja California Sur
  • Gel strength
  • Gracilaria
  • Seasonal variation
  • Storage

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