 However, in its unattached state, it is noted that polysaccharide yields are lower and some consider this to be the result of narrower thallus filaments giving way to a smaller amount of galactan present.Also, phycobiliproteins can be extracted from "F. lumbricalis", from which the R-phycoerythrin yield is ~0.1% by dry weight.Cations need to be present to form a strong gel in an aqueous solution.