Carrageenans or
carrageenins ( from
Irish carraigín, "little rock") are a family of linear sulphated
polysaccharides that are extracted from red
edible seaweeds. They are widely used in the
food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins. There are three main varieties of carrageenan, which differ in their degree of
sulphation. Kappa-carrageenan has one sulphate group per disaccharide. Iota-carrageenan has two sulphates per disaccharide. Lambda carrageenan has three sulphates per disaccharide.