Effect of extraction parameters on the chemical structure and gel properties of κ/ι-hybrid carrageenans obtained from Mastocarpus stellatus

Extraction parameters (temperature, pH, duration) and alkaline pre-treatment duration have been systematically varied in the aim of exploring their impact on both chemical structure and gelling properties of carrageenan biopolymers obtained from Mastocarpus stellatus seaweeds, collected on the Northern coast of Portugal. Increasing the alkaline pre-treatment duration PT leads to κ/ι-hybrid carrageenans containing less sulphate groups and biological precursor monomers. As a result, gel properties in the presence of KCl are improved as demonstrated by the increase in the Young's modulus with parameter PT. Increasing the extraction duration t ameliorates the biopolymer yield with no significant change in the complex κ/ι-hybrid carrageenan chemical structure. However, smaller molecular weights are obtained and gel properties are seen to be negatively affected. Extraction temperature and pH have dramatic effects on the biopolymer gel strength, and a set of extraction parameters optimized with respect to extraction yield and gel properties is reported. In addition, κ/ι-hybrid carrageenans obtained throughout this study exhibit a wide range of gel strengths in KCl, and allow us to present correlations between gel thermal properties and the κ/ι-hybrid carrageenans chemical structure.