ABSTRACT
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, commonly found in respiratory tract infections, produces alginate which contributes to blockage in the respiratory tract, which leads to further infection, while similar blockage of phloem in plants has been described. Bacterial products are very important in most aspects of polysaccharide biotechnology. Xanthan has been food grade approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This makes it not only attractive as a food product but also for use in packaging material in contact with food and in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications that involve ingestion. The high suspension stability is made use of in pharmaceutical cream formulations and in barium sulphate preparations. Gellan is obtained from cultures of Pseudomonas elodea found on elodea plant. It is isolated by ethanol precipitation from the culture medium and may be partially deacetylated by alkali treatment. The ability of cyclodextrins to enclose smaller molecules and effectively to sequester them from solution has led to a number of applications.
