|
General
- Agar (a-gar)' or
agar agar ' is a gelatinous substance chiefly used as a solid
substrate to contain culture medium for microbiological work.
- The word agar
comes from the Malay word agar-agar (meaning jelly).
- It is also known
as kanten, agal-agal (Ceylon agar), or China grass.
-
Agar-Agar shows a
yellowish white colour and it is produced in either powder or strip
form.
- Agar-Agar is a
source of beneficial minerals such as Sodium, Magnesium, Iron and
Calcium.
-
Agar- Agar is a
combination of polysaccharides made up of neutral molecules (agarose)
plus others electrically charged (agaropectine). Chemically, agar is
a polymer made up of subunits of the sugar galactose.
Production
& Extraction
- Agar can be
defined as a hydrophilic colloid extracted from certain seaweeds of
the Rhodophyceae class.
- Agar production
by modern techniques of industrial freezing was initiated in
California
- Hydrolysis of
agar contained in Gracilaria can be due to endogenous enzymes or to
the growth of Bacillus cereus.
- Agar
manufacturing processes have developed since the early freezing
method was used to concentrate the extracts of agarophyte seaweeds.
Applications
- A traditional
sector of application of Agar-Agar is the confectionery industry,
where it is used as a jellifying agent for jellies and aerated
candies.
- The high melting
points of Agar-Agar gels are very useful in the production of baked
goods.
- Agar-Agar has
shown a perfect functionality as a flocculating agent.
Technology
- Determination of
haemolysis type is an important technique used in microbiology and
medical diagnostics. The haemolytic patterns of various Gram
positive cocci (e.g. Streptococci) may be differentiated by
haemolysis of red blood cells on blood agar plates.
- A serological
technique is used for specifically identifying fraction I-positive
Pasteurella pestis colonies on nutrient agar plates containing
specific fraction I antibody.
- The performance
of disc diffusion and E test (Epsilometer test) is evaluated with
agar dilution technique for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of
H. influenzae.
Market
- The demand for
bacteriological agar comes mostly from industrialized countries
although demand in developing countries is also on the rise.
- Developing
countries supply about 90% of the seaweed used for agar, only 38% of
the agar is produced in the world market.
-
High Commercial value
and dried seaweed is exported to Japan, Korea and even Taiwan.
Agar-Agar produced locally is in demand in the local market
.
-
Agar-Agar content has
lower viscosity compared to other countries.
Entrepreneur who wants the informations
on "General Information, Production, Extraction, Technology, Applications,
Products, Company Profiles, Market" can email us to
informer@eth.net,
primaryinfo@gmail.com |
Production,
Extraction, Technology, Applications, Patent, Consultants, Company Profiles,
Reports, Market
