Sodium alginate, also known as brown algae gum and alginates, is a natural polysaccharide extracted from the cell wall of brown algae. As a natural polymer, sodium alginate has been widely used in food, pharmaceutical, industrial and other industries.Â
This article introduces the current research status of sodium alginate and prospects of sodium alginate uses in the pharmaceutical and food industries and gives an outlook on its development.
Since the discovery of sodium alginate from kelp in 1883, many scholars have studied its practical value.
Until 1929, it was used in industrial production in the United States, and in 1944, it was used in the food industry, and in 1983, the FDA approved sodium alginate to be directly used as a food ingredient.
In the early 1970s, China's cotton textile enterprises were using algae gum on cotton fabrics and later on polyester-cotton fabrics to replace grain sizing, and achieved better results.
In the early 1980s in the National Exchange Meeting of edible alginate jointly held by the Food Industry Association, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, experts fully affirmed the edible and medicinal value of alginate and called on China to vigorously promote the edible technology of alginate.
At present, sodium alginate is not only used in printing and dyeing, textile industry, but also has many applications in food and medicine industry.
In conclusion, flaxseed gum can be used in flour products to improve their edible quality.
Since the mid-1970s, different forms of alginates such as alginate salts, alginic acid and propylene glycol alginate have been successfully used in the pharmaceutical field.
It is due to the unique properties of sodium alginate that it is also widely used in the pharmaceutical field.
Applications of sodium alginate in the pharmaceutical field include as film-formers, disintegrants, matrices, gels, microspheres, membranes, etc., for controlled drug release and control of gastric reflux as well as for thickening and stabilization.
Applications of sodium alginate in the pharmaceutical field include as film-formers, disintegrants, matrices, gels, microspheres, membranes, etc., for controlled drug release and control of gastric reflux as well as for thickening and stabilization.
These are just a few of the applications of sodium alginate in the pharmaceutical field.
Why can sodium alginate be used in the pharmaceutical industry?
Sodium alginate is an indispensable nutrient edible fiber for human body. As a kind of algal gum, it can improve the nature and structure of food with its inherent physical and chemical properties. Sodium alginate has the characteristics of low calorie and non-toxic, easy to expand and high flexibility, and it can be added to food to perform the functions of coagulation, emulsification, suspension, stabilization and prevention of food drying.
The most important function of sodium alginate is gelation, i.e., the formation of edible gel, nearly solid, to maintain the shape of molding. Thus, it is an excellent edible additive. It can not only increase the nutritional composition of food, improve product quality and increase the variety of colors, but also reduce the cost and improve the economic efficiency of enterprises.
For example.
When producing bread and other pasta and cakes, adding 0.1%~1% sodium alginate can prevent aging and drying of finished products, reduce crumbs, eat with tenderness and good taste;
Adding 0.25%~2% sodium alginate to yogurt can maintain and improve its curd shape, prevent the viscosity from decreasing in the process of high-temperature sterilization, and also extend the storage period with its special flavor unchanged. Â
Sodium alginate can also be used as a thickening agent and emulsifier for margarine.
Adding a small amount of sodium alginate to beer can make the foam stable.
Sodium alginate as a good stabilizer can make ice cream and other cold foods produce a smooth appearance, texture, and a delicate taste.Moreover, sodium alginate can prevent the formation of ice crystals and will not become rough in storage and will not make its presence felt when consumed. Â The dosage is also lower than other stabilizers, the general dosage is 0.1%~0.3% (mass fraction).
In the United States, sodium alginate is known as a "wonderful food additive".
In Japan, sodium alginate is known as "long life food", high viscosity sodium alginate has the advantages of good thickening, good film formation, high gel strength, good silk formation, etc., is a good food additive.
In the UK, Norway and Southeast Asia, sodium alginate has been widely used in the food industry.
The development and utilization of edible algae biological resources is an important direction in current food research and application. Therefore, as a product extracted from brown algae, sodium alginate has a wide application prospect in "functional food", "health food" and "design food".
Sodium alginate will be increasingly used due to its good thickening, film-forming, stability, flocculation and chelating properties, and it is a valuable and promising research direction to develop new products with it.
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