Dictionary.net

A complex sulfated polymer of galactose units, extracted from Gelidium cartilagineum, Gracilaria confervoides, and related red algae. It is used as a gel in the preparation of solid culture media for microorganisms, as a bulk laxative, in making emulsions, and as a supporting medium for immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis.

A gelatinous substance prepared from seaweed in Japan and India, used in the East to thicken soup; largely used as a base for culture media in bacteriology; when unqualified, it is usually, and properly, called agar-agar.

[Malaysian] A medium for bacterial and other cultures, prepared from agar-agar, a gelatinous substance, also of dietary utility, yielded by red algae.

A sort of gelatin derived from various East Indian Algae. It forms a thick jelly with water, and is used as a culture medium for bacteria (A. cultures), either combined with bouillon (Nutrient) or with bouillon and glycerin ( Glycerin a.).

Gelatin of various seaweeds: used in making culture-media.

A substance resembling isinglass, consisting of a dried seaweed, brought into commerce from the East Indies under the form of transparent colorless strips, almost wholly soluble in water. It absorbs water in the stomach and intestines and forms a jelly, which, being indigestible, increases the bulk of the feces. It is employed as a medium for the cultivation of the bacteria, and for making suppositories; more recently used in the treatment of constipation. [E. Ind.]

[Malay word.] Edible seaweed.