General carrageenan

Commercial locust bean gum is the ground endosperm of the seeds of the locust bean (carob) tree. The general properties of locust bean gum are similar to those of guar gum. Differences are its low cold-water solubiUty and its synergistic gelation with kappa-carrageenan, furceUaran, and xanthan... 

The carrageenans and agar are generally linear galactans where the monomeric units are joined by alternating 1 4 and 1 3 bonds consisting then of disaccharide units. Carrageenan... 

The algal polysaccharides resembled the relatively simplified structures of tile neutral mucilages, as in the case of carrageenan A wider spectrum of struclures is found in Ihc bacterial gums, which arc generally of the highly branched type exuded by higher plants,... 

Many studies have been conducted to investigate the in vitro antiviral activity of various SPs. Studies have generally concentrated on synthetic dex-tran sulfates (DSs), pentosan sulfates, clinically used heparins, and seaweed-derived carrageenans. Some reviews reported that sulfated homopolysaccharides are more potent than sulfated heteropolysaccharides [2,3]. In general, polysaccharides exhibiting antiviral potential are highly sulfated [4]. 

Fig. 8 General structure of 4-alkyl/aryl-2-(N-substituted aminoalkylamido) thiazoles associated with carrageenan induced mice paw edema inhibitory activity...

Carrageenan is widely used in numerous food applications and is increasingly being used in pharmaceutical formulations. Carrageenan is generally regarded as a relatively nontoxic and nonirritating material when used in nonparenteral pharmaceutical formulations. 

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