Machine Translated by Google
46 Indonesian Journal of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, June 2006, Volume 13, Number 1: 45-50
to determine the optimal amount of water for the
extraction process.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The raw material for agar in this research is
red seaweed of the type Glacilaria chi lensis from PT
OHAMA Lampung.
The raw materials are dried on site by using the
sun's heat for 2 days to the ring, then put in sacks
and taken to the Research Center for Product
Processing and
Social Economics, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in
Jakarta as the research site. Prior to the agar
extraction process, the raw material for seaweed was
analyzed which included water content (AOAC, 1999)
and clean anhydrous weed (CAW). Clean anhydrous
weed is the percentage weight percentage of dry
grass samples after washing, separating from other
impurities and drying in an oven at 70oC to a
constant weight compared to the initial weight of
seaweed (Santos and Doty, 1983). The extracted
agar was analyzed for sulfate content, yield, gel
strength measurement, 3.6 anhydro-galactose content,
gel formation temperature and gel melting
temperature. The gelling temperature was carried out
by measuring the temperature of the agar filtrate with
a concentration of 2% with a digital thermometer with
an accuracy of 0.1o C while decreasing the
temperature of the medium gradually with a
decreasing speed of 0.6o C/ min . The sensor is
removed periodically and the temperature at which
the sensor can lift the gel from the filtrate is the
gelling temperature. The melting temperature of the
gel was measured by heating an agar gel with a
concentration of 2% on top of which was placed
buckwheat with a heating speed of 1o C /
minute. The temperature recorded when the
buckwheat fell to the bottom of the gel was the
melting point of the agar ( Marine Colloid, 1978).
Measurement of gel strength was carried out on agar
with a concentration of 2% at a temperature of 20o
C using a curd meter (Marine Colloid, 1978). Analysis
of sulfate levels was carried out by the gravimetric
method, namely by weighing the barium sulfate salt
that precipitated from the reaction between sulfate in
agar and saturated BaCl2 (Anonymous, 1986).
The stages of the agar extraction process are
soaking dried seaweed in 0.25% chlorine solution for
90 minutes. Furthermore, washing is carried out until
completely clean, and acid pretreatment is carried out
by soaking in a 3% acetic acid solution for
60 minutes. Then wash again until the pH of the
washing water is neutral. Agar extraction was carried
out at 85oC at neutral pH for 2-3 hours in a water
bath while stirring. The amount of extracting water
was varied as much as 15, 20 and 25 times the
weight of the seaweed to the ring. Then filtered using
a plankton net with a size of 150 mesh. The
extracted filtrate was added with KCl as much as 2%
of the dissolved seaweed while stirring for 15 minutes,
then thickened in a thickening pan for 12 hours at
room temperature. Furthermore, it is frozen in the
freezer for 24 hours at a temperature of -10o C, and
the results are thawed in
running water. Furthermore, it is dried in the sun to
obtain dry agar ( Priatama, 1989).
The experimental design used was a
single-factor completely randomized design
with 3 replications (Gomez and Gomez.
1984).
On the data obtained, an analysis of variance was
carried out (one way ANOVA) and if there was a
significant difference , it was continued with the Tukey paired
test. Data analysis was carried out with the help of the Minitab
statistical program.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the analysis of the raw
materials showed that the dried Gracilaria chi lensis
seaweed had a moisture content of about 19.26%.
Moisture content is one of the factors that affect the
durability of a material and shows the stability and
quality index of food ingredients. Materials with high
water content will be more easily damaged than
materials with low water content (Winarno, 1991). The
maximum water content required by SII for dry
seaweed ranges from 15% to 32% (Soegiarto and
Sulistyo, 1985). Thus the water content of dried
seaweed in this study has met the requirements set by
SII.
The CAW content of seaweed is 46.18%.
This CAW level indicates the purity of the seaweed,
namely the cleanliness of the seaweed from
adhering impurities such as sand, coral, or other
seaweed mixtures. Clean anhydrous weed (CAW) is
the percentage of net dry seaweed weight to the
 original material. Thus, this Gracilaria
chilensis seaweed has
purity
Translated by Google
Utomo, BSB and N. Satriyana, Physico-chemical Properties of Agar
46.18%, while the rest is water and other
impurities such as other seaweed, sand, salt
and
other materials attached to the seaweed.
Yield, Gel Strength and Sulfate Content
Yield results, gel strength and sulfate
content of seaweed extract from Gra cilaria
chilensis are presented in Table 1. The
treatment with the amount of extracting water
20 times the weight of seaweed resulted in the
highest yield amounting to 20.21% and the
amount of water treatment being 15. times the
weight of seaweed has the lowest yield value
of 17.32%. The results of Sukamulyo 's
research (1989), show that the greater the
amount of extracting water, the greater the
phenomenon of the solubility of a material
being extracted and the heat transfer received
will be. This will cause more and more agar
extracts that can be dissolved and removed
from
the cell walls of the seaweed, so that the yield
of the resulting agar will increase. In the
treatment of 15 times the weight of dry
seaweed, the
resulting agar filtrate was very concentrated and
difficult to filter, so that some of the agar was
not filtered and was still left in the seaweed .
In addition, the small amount of water also
causes the solubility of the agar in the
extracting water to be less. This causes the
yield of agar to be low. In the treatment the
amount of water was 25 times the weight of
the seaweed to the ring, the agar filtrate
obtained was more watery and difficult to clot
so that during the thawing process some of the
agar was wasted by the washing process. This
causes the yield of this to decrease compared
to the use of water 20 times. The yield of agar
is not only affected by the extraction method,
but also by species, climate, harvesting time
and location of cultivation (Chapman and
Chapman, 1980). Therefore, the amount of this
yield is not necessarily the same for the same
seaweed if it is harvested at different times or
planted at different locations.
When compared with the research results of
Suryaningrum et. al (1994) regarding the gelatin yield of
Gracilaria sp. The pond extracted with water as much
as 15
times
the
weight
from Seaweed Gracilaria chilensis … 47 of dry
seaweed was 13.88%, so the results of this study were
greater. The results of the study stated that with the
amount of water
extracting 10 times the weight of dry seaweed
will cause the yield to decrease to 10.04%
(Suryaningrum et. al, 1994).
Table 1. Yield, Gel Strength and Content
Sulfate Agar.
Parameter Treatment Amount of Extraction Water
15 times 20 times 25 times
yield
17.32±1.22a 20.21±1.05b 19.94 ±0.99ab
(%)
Strength
112.14±11.99a 119.28±11.94a 98.57±11.95a Gel
(g/cm2 )
Sulfate Level
2.28±0.54a 1.77±0.53a 2.55±0.55a
(%)
Note: the numbers in the same line and followed by different superscript
letters (a,b, etc.) indicate that they are significantly different.
The average value of the gel strength
produced in this study ranged from 98.57 g/cm2 ,
namely in the treatment the amount of water was
25 times the weight of dry seaweed to 119.28
g/cm2. namely in the treatment the amount of water
is 20 times the weight of dry seaweed. The results
of the analysis of variance showed that these three
treatments did not significantly affect the gel
strength of the resulting agar. This happens
because the sulfate content of the resulting agar is
also not significantly different. The sulfate content
affects the gel strength of the agar, the higher the
sulfate ester content in the agar, the lower the
strength of the gel formed (Chapman and
Chapman, 1980).
The gel strength of the results of this
study was much higher than the gel strength of
the seaweed Graci laria sp in ponds reported by
Suryaningrum et. al (1994) of 34.67 to 97.33 g/cm2 .
However, it is much lower than that of Pond Graci
laria verrucossa which was extracted with alkaline
treatment and ground which could produce a gel
strength of 355 g/cm2 (Utomo. 1996). Thus, the gel
strength of this agar is still relatively low when
compared to the quality standard of agar in Japan.
In Japan, agar is classified as superior quality if
its gel strength is greater than 600 g/cm2 , if its
 quality 1 2.55%. The results of the analysis of variance showed
gel strength is greater than 350
g/cm2 , grade 2 if its gel strength is
greater than
250 g/cm2 , grade 3 if its gel strength is
greater
than 250 g/cm2 , is greater grade than 3 if
150its strength g/cm2 and is the the gel
quality is 4 if it is lower than this value
(Suryaningrum et. al, 1994).
The low gel strength of the agar was
caused by the low content of 3.6 anhydro
Lgalactose in the agar and the high sulfate
content of the agar. The compound 3.6
anhydro-L-galactose is responsible for the
gel strength of the agar. The increase in
gel strength is closely related to the
amount of 3.6-anhydro-L-galactose and
sulfate contained in it (Rees, 1969). Gel
strength of agar also depends on the ratio
of the content of agarose to agaropectin
present in the agar molecule. The less agarose
content and the higher agaropectin content
containing sulfate groups, there is a tendency
for lower gel strength (Glicksman, 1983).
There are two methods used in the agar
extraction process, namely alkaline pretreatment
and acid pretreatment. Base pretreatment aims
to catalyze the 6-sulphate group of the 1.4-
bonded galactopyranose unit to form a 3.6-
anhydrogalactose residue so that it can provide
high gel strength (Angka and Suhartono, 2000).
The extraction process with acid pretreatment
aims to increase the yield of the resulting
agar and to shorten the extraction time. In
this study, seaweed extracted with alkaline
pretreatment gave poor results because the
agar filtrate produced was very dilute and not
lumpy and the yield of the agar was very
small, so in this study, acid pretreatment was
carried out.
The low value of gel strength from agar
may also be due to the type and age of
seaweed harvest. According to Suryaning rum
(1988), an increase in harvest age gave a
response to a decrease in sulfate levels.
This means that if the seaweed is harvested at
a young age, the sulfate content of the
seaweed is higher and this affects the lower
gel strength.
The average value of sulfate levels of
agar in this study ranged from 1.77% to
that the treatment of different amounts of extracting
water did not have a significantly different effect on
the sulfate content of the agar. According to
Suryaningrum (1988), sulfate levels can be affected by
different types and origins of seaweed, extraction
method, and harvest age. Increasing harvest age can
respond to a decrease in sulfate content.
The extraction method also affects the
sulfate content. The extraction process by
conducting alkaline pretreatment resulted in lower
sulfate content than acid pretreatment. Base
pretreatment can catalyze the 6-sulphate group of
the galacto pyranose unit so that the sulfate
content of agar is lower (Angka and Suharto no,
2000). The effect of differences in origin and type
of seaweed on the sulfate content of agar is
thought to be caused by the difference in the
ratio of the amount of agarose and agaropectin
contained in the agar molecule. The content of
agarose and agaropectin in agar varies depending
on the type and origin of the seaweed used as
raw material (Guiseley, 1968).
The sulfate level in this study is still
relatively lower than that reported by
Suryaningrum et. al (1994) of 3.25 – 4.79% for
agar from Gracilaria sp. pond. This causes the
gel strength of the
results of this study to be higher than the gel
strength of Gracilaria sp. the pond.
3.6 Anhydro-galactose Content, Gel
Formation Temperature and Gel Melting Temperature
The results of the analysis of the levels of
3.6 anhydro-galactose can be seen in Table 2.
The average value of the levels of 3.6
anhydrogalactose in this study ranged from
36.55% to 37.04%. The results of the analysis of
variance showed that each treatment with the
addition of carrageenan iota with different
concentrations did not give a significantly different
effect on the levels of 3.6 anhydro-galactose. This
happened because the difference in levels of 3.6
anhydro-galactose was only influenced by the type
and origin of the seaweed, the age of harvesting
the seaweed, and the handling carried out during
the processing (Armisen and Galatas, 1987).
The content of 3.6 anhydro-galactose is
usually directly proportional to the gel strength of
the agar and inversely proportional to the sulfate
content of the agar. However, in this study, it was
not seen the effect of increasing levels of 3.6
anhydro-galactose on the strength of the resulting
agar gel, which
probably due to the insignificant increase so This happened because the levels of 3.6
that the gel strength of the agar is relatively anhydrogalactose obtained in this study showed that the
the same. The results of the research by Izumi results were not significantly different or had almost the
(1971) stated that the decrease in the content same value.
of 3.6 anhydrogalactose was always
A 1.5% aqueous solution of agar can form a
accompanied by a decrease in the content of
gel at a temperature of 32oC to 39oC (Furia, 1975).
the 6-o-methyl group and an increase in the
The results of Purnawati's research (1992) explained
sulfate residue.
that the gelling temperature was closely
related to the levels of 3.6 anhydro-L-galactose
Table 2. Content of 3.6 Anhydro-galactose, Gel and sulfate levels. The presence of 3.6 anhydro-
Formation Temperature and Gel Melting Lgalactose in the agar molecule causes the
Temperature.
orderly properties in the polymer chain to
increase and as a result will increase the
Water Amount Treatment potential for the formation of the double helix,
Parameter thereby achieving a faster gelling temperature.
Extractor 15
times 20 times 25 times
36.55 38.68 37.04 The melting temperature of the gel is the
Content of 3.6 ± ± ± temperature at which the gelatinous gel turns
Anhydro galactose (%) into the sol phase, in which case the node
0.99a 1.13a 0.97a region decomposes into multiple strands and
33.36 34.33 34.53 then turns into a random coil conformation. The
Forming Temperature
average value of gel melting temperature for
± ± ±
Gel (o C)
each treatment ranged from 84.43o C to 85.63 o
0.58a 0.58a 0.5a C. The results of the analysis of variance
84.43 85.63 83.56 showed that each treatment did not have a
Gel Melting Temperature significantly different effect on the melting
o
temperature of the agar gel. This was
( C)
±1.32a ±1.76a ±0.76a presumably because the agar produced for each
Note: the numbers in the same line and followed by different
treatment had almost the same molecular weight
superscript letters (a,b, etc.) indicate that they are significantly or because it had almost the same 3.6 anhy
different. dro-galactose content. The melting temperature of
the gel is influenced by the molecular weight and
hydrogen bonds present in the material. The high
The level of 3.6 anhydro-galactose in this
molecular weight will cause the melting
study is still relatively low. This causes the gel
temperature to be higher, hydrogen bonds will
strength of the resulting agar is still low. The
occur between oxygen on the second C atom of
increase in gel strength is closely related to the
a polysaccharide polymer chain with oxygen on
amount of 3.6 anhydro-galactose and sulfate
the second C atom of another polysaccharide
contained in the agar (Rees, 2010).
polymer chain, due to this hydrogen bonding will
1969). When compared with the research form a network. polymers are complex so that to
results of Suryaningrum et. al (1994) of break down the network requires high
14.88 temperatures (Glicksman, 1982).
– 22.45% for agar from seaweed Gra cilaria
sp. ponds, then the results of this study are
still greater.

CONCLUSION
The gelling temperature is the
From the results of the study, it can be
temperature at which the boiled agar solution
concluded that the amount of water extracting as
begins to gel again. The average value of the
much as 20 times gave the results of gelatin with
gelling temperature in this study ranged from
the highest yield of 20.21%. The amount of
33.36o C to 34.53o C.
extracting water did not significantly affect the
parameters of sulfate content, gel strength, 3.6
The results of the analysis of variance showed
anhydro-galactose content, gelling temperature and
that each treatment did not have a significantly
gel melting temperature of the resulting agar. The
different effect on the gelling temperature of
use of the amount of extracting water as much
the resulting agar.
as 20 times is also relatively easy in carrying out
the extraction, where the filtering of the filtrate is
quite easy and the filtrate results are easy to control.