POSSIBILITIES OF GULAMAN DAGAT AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR 

 GELATIN IN FOOD ^ 



By Albert H. Wells 



{From the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Bureau of Science, Manila, 



P.I.) 



The seaweed gulaman dagat, a species of Gracilaria, is found 

 growing throughout the Philippine Archipelago. During the 

 first quarter of the year it is brought in to a limited extent by 

 fishermen and is marketed as a food product. As a food it is used 

 in two ways: (1) Washed free from salt water and boiled and 

 eaten as a salad and (2) sun-bleached, dried, and marketed as 

 a cheap substitute for gelatin. Its use and manufacture has not 

 been exploited, and at present the local consumption is exceedingly 

 small, due principally to the fact that a purer and whiter product 

 has already been established in the market and is obtainable at 

 a nominal price. This product is the Japanese gulaman, which 

 is extensively used as agar-agar. 



An investigation has been made with regard to the food value 

 of gulaman dagat and to determine whether or not it could be 

 used as a suitable substitute for gelatin. A food gelatin should 

 stand tests showing a high percentage of purity and should be 

 clear, only faintly colored, and quite odorless. It should have 

 an excellent congealing strength. 



A specimen of the seaweed was collected and identified as a 

 species of Gracilaria by Mr, E. D. Merrill, botanist, Bureau of 

 Science. After washing, boiling in water, and straining, the ex- 

 tract was cooled to a translucent greenish jelly. Another por- 

 tion was washed free of salt and other foreign matter and was 

 treated in the cold with very dilute acetic acid, after which it 

 was washed, and dilute ammonia was added. It was again 

 washed, and the residue was boiled for some time and strained 

 through a suitable cloth. The extract was concentrated, and 

 the jelly was dried. Three grams of the dry substance, made 



' Received for publication October, 1916. 



267 



