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Published on: June 29, 2017
DECREASE IN DYNAMIC VISCOSITY AND AVERAGE MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF ALGINATE FROM LAMINARIA DIGITATA DURING ALKALINE
Peggy Vauchel1, Abdellah Arhaliass1, Jack Legrand1
1UMR 6144 CNRS Génie des Procédés Environnement Agroalimentaire, CRTT, BP406, 37 bd de l'Université, 44602 Saint-Nazaire Cedex, FranceIFREMER, Laboratoire Physiologie et Biotechnologie des Algues, rue de l'Ile d'Yeu, BP21105, 44311 Nantes Cedex 03, FranceIFREMER, Département Sciences et Techniques Alimentaires Marines, rue de l'Ile d'Yeu, BP21105, 44311 Nantes Cedex 03, France.
Abstract:
Alginates are natural polysaccharides that are extracted from brown seaweeds and widely used for their rheological properties. The central step in the extraction protocol used in the alginate industry is the alkaline extraction, which requires several hours. In this study, a significant decrease in alginate dynamic viscosity was observed after 2 h of alkaline treatment. Intrinsic viscosity and average molecular weight of alginates from alkaline extractions 1-4 h in duration were determined, indicating depolymerization of alginates: average molecular weight decreased significantly during the extraction, falling by a factor of 5 between 1 and 4 h of extraction. These results suggested that reducing extraction time could enable preserving the rheological properties of the extracted alginates.
