Usage of Agar

Since agar has a characteristic of forming a strong reversible gel,

it is widely used in fields such as food industry, medicine, and microbiological research.

Below are some examples of where agar is commonly used.

Food Industry

Agar is mainly used in the food industry. It is used as the ‘gelling agent’ in jelly and pudding,

as the ‘stabilizer’ in dairy product and soft drink, as the ‘anti-discoloring agent’ in canned products and

as the ‘clearing agent’ in coffee, beer, juice, and rice wine.

Cultivating Medium

Agar is used as the cultivating medium such as pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms and molds.

Since the agar has high gel strength and is transparent, soft and stable, agar is widely used as the cultivating medium.  The normal concentration for the cultivating medium is 1~2/span>

Tissue Cultivating Medium

Agar is used to cultivate the tissues of plants, vegetables, and fruits in the same way of cultivating the microorganisms.

Medicine

Agar is used as the dental reversible hydrocolloid, low-calorie healthy food and ingredient in making the capsule for medicine.

Reagent

The agarose, made by refining the agar, is widely used as biochemical and medical reagents for testing.