Best Gracilaria Seaweed Supplier Indonesia

Gracilaria is a genus of Rhodophyta, a red algae. Gracilaria is primarily used for producing edible agar as a solidifying agent in the food industry. It also has secondary uses in cosmetics, nutraceuticals, water remediation, fish culture, and agriculture, offering benefits such as antimicrobial properties and serving as a food additive and fertilizer.

Traditionally cultivated as a source of agar Indonesia produces varieties of Gracilaria including Gracilaria Changii, Gracilaria confervoides, Gracilaria Gigas, Gracilaria lichenoides, Gracilaria crasa, Gracilaria blodgettii, Gracilaria arcuta, Gracilaria taenioides, Gracilaria eucheumoides, but mostly Gracilaria verrucosa.

Macro Seaweed is Gracilaria supplier from Indonesia. Contact us for more information.

Gracilaria as food and its cultural significance

Various species within this genus are cultivated in Asia, South America, Africa and Oceania. Gracilaria is used as food in Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese and Korean cuisines. In Japanese cuisine, it is called ogonori or ogo. In the Philippines it is called gulaman and is used to make gelatin. In Jamaica it is called Irish moss. In Korea, it is called kkosiraegi.

Industrial production of agar from Gracilaria seaweed

Gracilaria seaweed is also widely used in the industrial production of agar, a gelatinous substance that is commonly used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Agar is extracted from the cell walls of certain species of red algae, including Gracilaria, and is widely recognized as a safe and effective gelling agent.

The process of extracting agar from Gracilaria seaweed typically involves boiling the seaweed in water to release the agar into the solution. The solution is then filtered, purified, and dried to create a powder or solid block of agar. Agar can be used as a thickening agent, emulsifier, stabilizer, or gelatin in a wide range of applications.