Question

Who is better imbibent gelatin or agar?

Answer 1

Agar - agar can adsorbs 99 times more water than that of its weight. Some of the proteins adsorb 15 times more water. Affinity must be between imbibant and liquid material and movement of water occurs in order of water potential gradient.

Imbibition power = Agar – Agar > Pectin > Protein > Starch > Cellulose

Here as you know gelatin is a mixture of peptides and proteins. Protiens have less Imbibition power when compared with agar - agar . Hence agar agar is a better imbibent than gelatin