CARRAGEENANS FROM KALLYMENIA-WESTII (RHODOPHYCEAE) WITH A REVIEW OF THE PHYCOCOLLOIDS PRODUCED BY THE CRYPTONEMIALES

The cell-wall polysaccharides of the red alga Kallymenia westii, collected at two different depths (45 and 24 m) off the island of St Lucia (Lesser Antilles), were analyzed from dried, ground algal material and after hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide precipitation. Using chemical, optical, rheological, and spectroscopic (FT-IR and NMR) techniques, they were found to be highly sulfated, complex galactans containing low levels of 3,6-anhydrogalactose, 4-O-methylgalactose, and traces of xylose. Pyruvate (0.55%) was attached to the 3-linked galactose. The phycocolloids produced by algae belonging to the order Cryptonemiales are reviewed. The galactans of K. westii appear to be similar to the majority of them, and, presumably, are of the lambda-carrageenan family.