Galactans of Gracilaria pudumadamensis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) of Indian waters.
Galactans from the Indian agarophyte Gracilaria pudumadamensis were extracted and characterized. The isolated native (GP(Native)) and alkali treated (GP(Alkali)) galactans were characterized by IR, 13C NMR, GC-MS and GPC. It was found that GP(Native) and GP(Alkali) were composed mainly of 3,6-anhydro L-galactose, 6-O-methylated D-galactose and galactose in various mole proportions (15.6:69.9:17.5 mole% for GP(Native) and 20.2:69.8:10.0 mole% for GP(Alkali)). The GP(Native) and GP(Alkali) exhibited low gel strengths (< 100 g/cm2) and high melting points (-76 degrees C), which may be due to the presence of high 6-O-Me-galactose contents. The latter, having low sulfate (2.1%), was by far the greatest 6-O-Me-galactose containing polysaccharide in a Gracilaria spp. reported in the literature. This methylated agar contained very low heavy metal ions estimated by inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometry (ICP). The results of this investigation would be useful in bioprospecting of agarophytes, especially those occurring in Indian waters and would be potentially useful in food, personal care and related domains.
Stalin
S
Kondaveeti
Sanjay
S
Kumar
Meenakshi S
MS
Ganesan
Arup K
AK
Siddhanta
D005685:Galactans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044724:Gracilaria / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D007194:India; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D005685:Galactans; D010936:Plant Extracts