Ok, I need to find some labels for products that contain algae. So far all I know is pudding and toothpaste. What are some others?
And, also, what are the names of the algae?
IANAMB, but agar is used for some gelatin products, such as, uhm, gelatin. Gummi worms would be another application for gelatin, but I don’t know any brands that are made with agar as opposed to beef-gelatin.
I’ll bet you’ll find a host of algae-based food products in a health-food store, such as Wild Oats.
Alga used in food: Spirulina, Chlorella, Kelp, Fucus.
Look for carageenen in the ingredients list … it’s everywhere!
The gelling agent in microbiology agar (used for culturing bacteria) is derived from red algae.
Here’s a picture of a package of laver which is a red alga (Porphyra sp.). It’s closely related to what’s known as “nori” in Japan.
Would propylene glycol alginate count as an ingredient that is algae?
Ah, I’m good, I got all I needed: Coffee Mate, Nutri Grain Yogurt Bars, ice cream, Jell-O Instant Pudding, and evaporated milk, all that have carrageenan.
[General Jack D. Ripper]
Ice cream, Mandrake… children’s ice cream!
[/Gen. Ripper]
[/Strangelove]
[Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake]
Oh, hell. Are the Russians involved, sir?
[/Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake]
[/Strangelove]
Spirulina is a bacterium, not an algae.
Hmmm… some sources seem to be saying that Spirulina is blue-green alga, others say it is a filamentous cyanobacterium. Can we have the Straight Dope please?
Nomenclature wars:
A molecular test of cyanobacterial phylogeny: inferences from constraint analyses (2002)
The correct answer depends on when and where you went to school, and probably what yor major was.
It’s both. “Algae” is a term that does not reflect relatedness between its members (a classic polyphyletic grouping for you taxonomists out there), rather algae refers to the form and function of its members. That way, cyanobacteria get to be bacteria based on their evolutionary relationships, and algae based on their lifestyle.
For example, here’s one definition of algae:
From Biological Oceanography, by Carol Lalli and Timothy Parsons.
Here’s another definition. Ironically, this one seems to completely exclude plants.
[Gen. Ripper]
Mandrake, the redcoats are coming!
[/Ripper]
Spirulina is a cyanobacterium. These were once commonly referred to as blue-green algae but then koalas were once referred to as bears. The fact is that they are prokaryotes and lack a nucleus., They sure aren’t algae or plants.
Ah, I realized where I made my mistake of certainty. I was vaguely remembering my freshman biology course (of 13 years ago) and mixed up Spirulina with Spirogyra.
it is indeed derivaed from algae but chemically modified. The master speaks
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_223a.html
There’s no reason algae can’t be prokaryotes.