Galactans and its applications

Abstract

Galactan is a generic term to design a very large family of polysaccharides identified in terrestrial plants and other organisms but above all in red marine macroalgae. They are mainly represented by agars and carrageenans which have been largely investigated and used in industry for their unique rheological properties. The recent emergence of many studies, which report the wide range of biological activities of various galactans, opens the way to a new field of applications. This chapter focuses on the origins, the structural characteristics associated to extraction procedures, the biological activities, and the techno-functional properties of galactans.