THE DEGRADATION OF CARRAGEENIN: I. KINETICS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION AT pH 7

Abstract

The degradation of carrageenin in buffered aqueous solution at pH 7.0 has been studied over the temperature range 60° to 101 °C. by following the change in viscosity and reducing properties. Kinetic analysis indicates the occurrence of two reactions: (a) an initial rapid degradation representing only about 0.3% of the complete hydrolysis, followed by (b) a first-order random degradation having k = 2.75 × 10¹³ e^{−29,200,/RT} hr⁻¹. The latter reaction becomes important at temperatures above 60 °C. The results indicate that carrageenin is more unstable than would be expected of a simple 1–3 galactan, and that two types of weak linkage are involved in the structure of the polysaccharide.