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Effect of dark treatment on the starch degradation and the agar quality of cultivated Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta, Gracilariales) from Venezuela

  • 7. Chemical Composition
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Abstract

The effect of darkness and ammonia on Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis agar yield and quality was studied. Plants were cultivated under controlled conditions in the laboratory and fertilized with ammonia prior to a month storage in the dark. Starch inclusions are known to interfere with the mechanical properties of the isolated agar. The starch content of algal tissue and the activities of the floridean starch phosphorylase and α-glucosidase were measured during this storage period as a way to follow the enhancement of starch degradation in the absence of light, and to measure the effect of darkness on the content and quality of the synthesized agar. The agar yield, gel strength, 3,6-anhydrogalactose, sulphate and starch content were considerably affected by this dark treatment. The values obtained reflect a pattern of optimization of agar quality when Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis was stored in the dark. The isolated agar following dark treatment is less contaminated by starch inclusions. This is shown by the improvement in the agar yield and quality, the nutrient status of the plant and the reduction of the starch content.

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Abbreviations

DW::

Dry weight

FW::

Fresh weight

S::

Sulphate

3,6-AG::

3,6-anhydrogalactose

GS::

Gel strenght at 1.5% concentration

CX::

Cold extract at 25 °C

A::

Autoclaved extract at 121 °C

MW::

Molecular weight

PFD::

Photon flux density

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  1. Department of Physiological Botany, Uppsala University, Box 540, S-752 36, Uppsala, Sweden

    Raúl E. Rincones, Shukun Yu & Marianne Pedersén

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  1. Raúl E. Rincones
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  2. Shukun Yu
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  3. Marianne Pedersén
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Rincones, R.E., Yu, S. & Pedersén, M. Effect of dark treatment on the starch degradation and the agar quality of cultivated Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta, Gracilariales) from Venezuela. Hydrobiologia 260, 633–640 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00049082

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