Abstract
AbstractIn this paper, the current state-of-art of extraction of alginates and the determination of their physico-chemical properties as well as their overall applications focussing on biomedical purposes has been presented. The quality and quantity of the alginate obtained with a variable yield prepared from brown seaweeds as a result of many factors, such as type of algae, extraction methods, chemical modification and others. Alginates are mainly extracted by using conventional alkaline extraction. However, novel extraction techniques such as microwave and ultrasound assisted extractions have gained a lot of interest. The extraction parameters (e.g., temperature and time of extraction) have critical impact on the alginate physiochemical and mechanical properties and thus, their potential applications. By controlling a chemical process makes it possible get various forms of alginates, such as fibres, films, hydrogels or foams. It is important to characterise the obtained alginates in order to their proper applications. This article presents several techniques used for the analysis of alginate properties. These natural polysaccharides are widely used in the commercial production, as a food ingredient, in the pharmaceutical industry due to their antibacterial, anticancer and probiotic properties. Their gelling characteristic and absorbable properties enable using alginates as a wound management material. Moreover, they are also biocompatible, non-toxic and biodegradable, therefore adequate in other biomedical applications.
Highlights
Brown seaweeds are abundant in many coastlines and in some of them they represent an almost unexploited but very valuable marine resource
In this review paper we describe alginates that are natural polysaccharides extracted mainly from brown seaweeds
The aim of the present paper is to present the current trends in extraction of alginates from brown seaweeds
Summary
Brown seaweeds (known as macroalgae) are abundant in many coastlines and in some of them they represent an almost unexploited but very valuable marine resource. In this review paper we describe alginates that are natural polysaccharides extracted mainly from brown seaweeds They are composed of two hexuronic acids: β-Dmannuronic acid (M) and α-L-guluronic acid (G) linked by 1–4 bonds [2, 3]. Several applications of alignates have been seen, mainly as food additives to stabilize and improve food consistency (e.g., baked food, fruit industry, jellies, jams, ice cream, mayonnaise) [11, 14,15,16] These biopolymers are commonly considered as healthy food elements due to their anticancer and prebiotic properties [17]. The type and procedure of extraction is significant due to the impact of chemical modification on the alginates form and their mechanical properties It is an important aspect, because mechanical and physicochemical properties determine the alginate application.
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