Impact of Ca2+ on the Rheology of Hybrid Carrageenan from Mastocarpus stellatus and Chondrus crispus Red Seaweeds

Abstract

Sol-gel diagrams and the corresponding rheological properties of kappa/iota-hybrid carrageenan hydrogels prepared with calcium counterions at different ionic strengths (<1 M) and biopolymer content (< 2%, w/w) were determined. For this purpose, two model red seaweeds such as M.stellatus and C.crispus were selected. Results indicated that the presence of calcium counterions allowed obtaining hydrogels with enhanced viscoelastic features. It should be remarked that sol-gel diagrams exhibited a wide range of gelled systems with different rheological properties attained varying the extracts source, biopolymer content and ionic strengths. This is critically relevant to expand the potential applications of the extracted biopolymers and meet the growing market demand of target biopolymers.