Agar
Name: Agar agar
Synonyms: agar, E406
Genre: Clean
Purity: extract
A natural gelling substance.
Agar-agar is produced from Rhodophyta, mainly mined off the coast of Japan (often obtained from underwater plantations).
Usage
As a highly swellable substance it is used as a mild laxative, acting as a result of the swelling of food in the intestines.
Agar-agar is used as a natural gelling agent in production plants, in photography (in the production of photosensitive emulsions), chemistry (in electrolytic keys, in galvanic cells), pharmacy (as a swelling agent, gelling and disintegrating tablets), cosmetics.
The main application is agar as a neutral primer for media on which bacteria are grown in microbiological laboratories and in vitro cultures in biotechnology laboratories. Only some marine and soil bacteria can break it down.
Agar taken in normal amounts is harmless.