Degradation of Alginate in the Presence of Reducing Compounds.

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Abstract
Alginate has been shown to be more or less rapidly degraded in the presence of a number of different reducing compounds. The autoxidation of the reducing compound leads to the formation of hydrogen peroxide, The degradation of the alginate is caused by free radicals, probably hydroxyl radicals, formed by the reaction between the reducing compound and the hydrogen peroxide. The difference in the effect of the various reducing compounds is most probably due to a difference in ability to form and destroy radicals. In the presence of the most active reducing compounds, e.g. ascorbic acid, the intrinsic viscosity of alginate decreases from 20 dl/g to 2.5 in about 3 h, under conditions where pure alginate solutions are stable.