The carbohydrates, including starch, occur as major constituent in all green plants. The commercial sources of starch are maize, wheat, rice, potatoes, barley and sorghum. While glycogen is the reserve carbohydrate of animals, occurring mainly in the liver, the amylose and pectin are present in green plants. In this context it would be relevant to say that alginic acids occur in marine algae and structurally are linear copolymer with homo-polymeric blocks of beta-D-mannuronic acid linked so that the carboxyl group is shielded by a glycosidic linkage (linked 1,4) and its C-5 epimer alpha-L guluronate.
In other words it is a linear polymer of mannuronic acid (M-block) and guluronic acid (G-block) in the pyranose ring form. Depending upon the degree of polymerisation, the molecular weight of alginic acids varies in the range 32,000-250,000. The monomer in the molecule may contain consecutive M-blocks or consecutive G-blocks or alternating M and G-block (MG-block).
The alginic acids are mostly extracted from brown seaweeds or kelps, chiefly from Macrocystis Pyrifera - the giant kelp on the Pacific coast - and from Laminaria Digitata - the horsetail kelp on the Atlantic coast. The technical grades of alginic acid contain some cellulose, while the refined or food grades of algin are obtained by removal of cellulose via filtration, bleaching and further purification. As far as properties of alginic acid are concerned it is white to yellow powder with remarkable hydrophilic colloidal properties, insoluble in water as well as organic solvents. It is slowly soluble in alkaline solutions.
Alginic acids have wide range applications wherever a hydrophilic colloid with marked thickening, stabilizing, emulsifying and water holding properties is needed. The specific industrial uses of alginic acid are in foods, tooth paste, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, concrete, boiler water treatment, adhesives, fibres and oil well drilling mud. Alginic acids are extensively employed in ice creams and syrups due to their stabilising action.
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