alginic acid

From algin +‎ -ic and acid.

• IPA^(key): /ælˌdʒɪn.ɪk ˈæs.ɪd/

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alginic acid (plural alginic acids)

1. (biochemistry) An insoluble colloidal acid (C₆H₈O₆)_n that in the form of its salts is a constituent of the cell walls of brown algae and is used as a food additive.
   • 1955, Rachel Carson, chapter 2, in The Edge of the Sea‎, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 17:

     For the long-stalked kelps that sway in dusky forests just below the level of the spring tides, survival in the surf zone is largely a matter of chemistry. Their tissues contain large amounts of alginic acid and its salts, which create a tensile strength and elasticity able to withstand the pulling and pounding of the waves.

• (thickener, stabiliser, gelling agent, emulsifier): E400

• alginate

• “alginic acid”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.