Impact of short-term heat treatment on the structure and functional properties of commercial furcellaran compared to commercial carrageenans

In the production of biopolymers, the processing operations (e.g. extraction and drying) involve some degradation of the polysaccharide-causing structural and functional changes in final products. In this study, short-term heat treatment (75–115 °C, 15 min) influence on commercial carrageenans' — furcellaran, κ-carrageenan, ι-carrageenan and a κ/λ-carrageenan — structure, molecular weight and gel rheology was studied. Compared with other carrageenans, commercial furcellaran that had undergone multiple heatings at high temperatures during production was found to be susceptible to polymer degradation. Heat caused the desulphation and degradation of furcellaran galactans and the molecular weight was significantly decreased, causing a drop in viscosity and gel hardness. The loss of the network cross-linking of furcellaran gels was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Carrageenan gel storage modulus values decreased with the increase in the temperature of the treatment. The greatest decrease in storage modulus values occurred with κ/λ-carrageenan gels, followed by ι-carrageenan > furcellaran > κ-carrageenan.