Alginic acid, also called algin or alginate, is a viscous gum Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifiers and stabilisers. Most often these gums are found in the woody elements of plants or in seed coatings that is abundant in the cell walls A cell wall is a tough, flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cells. It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism. A major function of the cell wall is to act as a pressure vessel, preventing over-expansion when water of brown algae The Phaeophyceae or brown algae, is a large group of mostly marine multicellular algae, including many seaweeds of colder Northern Hemisphere waters. They play an important role in marine environments both as food, and for the habitats they form. For instance Macrocystis, a member of the Laminariales or kelps, may reach 60 m in length, and forms. It ranges from white to yellowish-brown, and takes filamentous, granular and powdered forms.
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