Kat Libby Outline  Basic anatomy and background of Chondrus crispus  Review of carrageenan and its uses  Harvesting  Processing  Why we care about algae  The Future of Carrageenan What is Irish Moss?  Chondrus crispus and Gigartina stellata are often processed together as Irish Moss  Found in the North Atlantic  Newfoundland to New Jersey  Norway to North African coast  Just below the water to 20‐30 feet deep  Choppy wave action gives it short branches Anatomy of Irish Moss • Red algae, colored by phycobiliproteins • Relatively small, slightly resembles parsley • Membranaceous and dichotomously branched • Short stipe and small holdfast • About 80% water, 20% gelatinous material • Negligible amounts of vitamins, nitrogen, calcium, fats • Large number of minerals, nutritive • Major source of carrageenan! What is Carrageenan?  A hydrophilic sulfated polyanionic phycocolloid  Simply, a gel‐like substance used in suspension of liquids composed of two galactose sugars  Main structural component of cell walls  20‐40% ester sulfates

Structure of Carageenan Main Types of Carrageenan  λ‐carrageenan  Not sensitive to cations  Viscous, non‐gelling solutions  κ‐carrageenan  Potassium sensitive  Brittle gels  ι‐carrageenan  Calcium sensitive  Elastic gels  Three others are precursors to these final types Uses of Carrageenan  Dairy products  Puddings and jellies  Baby foods  Tanning industry  Dietetic foods  Personal hygiene products  Instant foods  Pharmaceutical tablets  Pastries and candy  Cough syrup  Cosmetics  Popsicles  Textiles  Mineral emulsions  Industrial gels  Clarifier of alcoholic beverages  Viscosity control  Soft drinks  Beer foam stabilizer  Fruit juice  Aging of spirits  Cake and pie fillings  Bakery products  Caramels  Sausage  Condiments and dressings  Antibiotic ice  Canned fish and meat Harvesng  Major U.S. suppliers  Scituate and Kingston, MA  Rockland and Portland, ME  Other suppliers in Ireland, France, and Canada  Harvesting originated in Ireland, then introduced to the US in 1835  Season runs May through September  Higher concentrations of carrageenan due to active metabolism  During ebb tide, specialized rakes are used to scrape the algae off rocks and onto small boats Processing  Washed in sea‐water, dried and bleached with sulfites or sun  Mainly unbleached‐ increases output of carrageenan  Salts control the gelling process so the plants must be protected from rainwater  Carrageenan is extracted by water extraction, i.e. diffusion  The addition of potassium makes a stronger gel  Gel extract marketed and sold Why do we care?  Industry prominently based in United States  Algae responsible for half of all oxygen production  Carrageenan is in everything…  Potential medical treatments The Future of Carrageenan  Passes through digestive system unaltered, adding no caloric value to foods  6% utilization in humans (Swartz, 1994)  However, has high nutritive value

 Antiviral, antitumor, anticoagulant, and immunomodulation activities discovered (Schaeffer and Krylov, 2000; Zhou et al., 2004, 2005) Quesons