'''Capsulan''' is the exopolysaccharide which makes up the thick capsule surrounding the unicellular alga ''Prasinococcus capsulatus''.<ref name="Sie"> Sieburth ''et al.'' 1999 ''Widespread occurrence of the oceanic ultraplankter'' Prasinococcus capsulatus ''(Prasinophyceae), the diagnostic "Golgi-Decapore complex" and the newly discovered polysaccharide "capsulan"'' </ref>
==Extraction== Capsulan is extracted from cell cultures of ''P. capsulatus'' using the French press method to burst the cells. Alternatively the cells may be boiled.<ref name="Kur"> Kurano, 1995, ''Fixation and Utilization of Carbon Dioxide by Microalgal Photosynthesis'' </ref>
==Composition== Capsulan has been found to be mostly carbohydrate (70%) with some protein and sulfur. The main sugars making up the carbohydrate are galactose and glucose while other sugars such as xylose, arabinose and mannose are also present in smaller quantities.<ref name="mykle"> Myklestad, 1999, ''Phytoplankton extracellular production and leakage with considerations on the polysaccharide accumulation''</ref> Sugar acids are common in plant and algal polysaccharide but there is disagreement in the literature concerning capsulan's sugar acid content. Kurano<ref name="Kur"/> claims that capsulan contains none, while Myklestad<ref name="mykle"/> maintains that both galacturonic and glucuronic acids are present.
==Notes== {{reflist}}
Category:Polysaccharides