208
9 Laminarins
administered intravenously, has anticoagulant properties comparable to that of heparin, it was also extremely toxic to the rabbits’ tested on at the pharmacokinetically
relevant doses (Thorpe and Adams 1957). Consequently, no further studies have been
carried out on the anticoagulant application of laminarin. Oral administration of laminarin for food and other bioactive properties do not pose the toxic effect as when
delivered directly to the blood intravenously. The first-pass metabolism through the
alimentary canal abates this.
9.8 Commercial Production
Macroalgae cost contributes to about 24% of the total annual running cost of
macroalgae-based biochemicals refinery for bioethanol and biochemical production
(Konda et al. 2015). The rest of the annual running cost goes into the purchase of
consumables, facilities, labor and utilities. A megatone of brown algae is estimated
to be priced at 100 USD, if laminarin is processed into sugars, the minimum selling
price for the sugars produced from a corefinery of laminarin alongside alginate would
be 21–47 cents per pound. If fermented to ethanol, the minimum selling price for the
ethanol will be 3.6–8.5 USD per gallon (Konda et al. 2015). This costs much higher
than fossil fuels or ethanol from conventional process. The commercial application
of laminarin is therefore of more economic relevance in the bioactive applications
where the high value can compensate for the relatively higher production cost.
As research interest increases in the numerous benefits of laminarin as a potential
bioactive compound, so does demand for analytical grade laminarin which is used
to study the structure, properties, develop new applications and better understanding
of the structure property relations of laminarin. Companies such as Sigma-Aldrich,
Sigma Chimie SARL and Seikagaku Kogyo supply laminarins of different specifications. These have been used in various studies on laminarins (e.g., Ojima et al.
2018; Yvin et al. 1993). These supply companies therefore play a significant role
in the advancement of the research in laminarin through ensuring their availability.
In studies focused on the structure and applications of laminarin, several hours and
resources could be saved in repeated extractions by buying already prepared samples.
9.9 Conclusion
Laminarin, another biopolymer obtained from the brown algae, has several bioactive properties which makes it a valuable biopolymer in the food and animal feed
industry. Its lower molecular weight makes separation by ultrafiltration—an useful
method in its extraction. It can be extracted either as a sole product or alongside
other polysaccharides in the brown algae such as alginate and fucoidan. It seems
more attention and has been placed on the application of laminarin in animal feed
as a feasible commercial application in the near future. Application for human use
9 Laminarins
administered intravenously, has anticoagulant properties comparable to that of heparin, it was also extremely toxic to the rabbits’ tested on at the pharmacokinetically
relevant doses (Thorpe and Adams 1957). Consequently, no further studies have been
carried out on the anticoagulant application of laminarin. Oral administration of laminarin for food and other bioactive properties do not pose the toxic effect as when
delivered directly to the blood intravenously. The first-pass metabolism through the
alimentary canal abates this.
9.8 Commercial Production
Macroalgae cost contributes to about 24% of the total annual running cost of
macroalgae-based biochemicals refinery for bioethanol and biochemical production
(Konda et al. 2015). The rest of the annual running cost goes into the purchase of
consumables, facilities, labor and utilities. A megatone of brown algae is estimated
to be priced at 100 USD, if laminarin is processed into sugars, the minimum selling
price for the sugars produced from a corefinery of laminarin alongside alginate would
be 21–47 cents per pound. If fermented to ethanol, the minimum selling price for the
ethanol will be 3.6–8.5 USD per gallon (Konda et al. 2015). This costs much higher
than fossil fuels or ethanol from conventional process. The commercial application
of laminarin is therefore of more economic relevance in the bioactive applications
where the high value can compensate for the relatively higher production cost.
As research interest increases in the numerous benefits of laminarin as a potential
bioactive compound, so does demand for analytical grade laminarin which is used
to study the structure, properties, develop new applications and better understanding
of the structure property relations of laminarin. Companies such as Sigma-Aldrich,
Sigma Chimie SARL and Seikagaku Kogyo supply laminarins of different specifications. These have been used in various studies on laminarins (e.g., Ojima et al.
2018; Yvin et al. 1993). These supply companies therefore play a significant role
in the advancement of the research in laminarin through ensuring their availability.
In studies focused on the structure and applications of laminarin, several hours and
resources could be saved in repeated extractions by buying already prepared samples.
9.9 Conclusion
Laminarin, another biopolymer obtained from the brown algae, has several bioactive properties which makes it a valuable biopolymer in the food and animal feed
industry. Its lower molecular weight makes separation by ultrafiltration—an useful
method in its extraction. It can be extracted either as a sole product or alongside
other polysaccharides in the brown algae such as alginate and fucoidan. It seems
more attention and has been placed on the application of laminarin in animal feed
as a feasible commercial application in the near future. Application for human use