- Product Name: L-Glutamic Acid
- Appearance: White Crystal Powder
- CAS NO.: 56-86-0
- MF: C5H9NO4
- Applciations: food, pharmaceutical industry
What Is L Glutamic Acid
Glutamic Acid is the optically active form of glutamic acid with the L-configuration. Glutamate is an alpha-amino acid that is used by nearly all living things in biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning the body can synthesize enough of the nutrient for its use. It is also the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate nervous system.
L-Glutamate is one of the two amino acids that contain a carboxylic acid group on its side chain. Because its carboxylic acid side chain is deprotonated, it is negatively charged as an anion at physiological PH. In amino acid metabolism, glutamate is formed by the transfer of an amino group from an amino acid to α-ketoglutarate. Therefore, it acts as an intermediary between ammonia and amino acids in the body. Glutamate is converted to glutamine by glutamine synthetase and converted to gamma-aminobutyric acid by glutamate decarboxylase.
What Is L-Glutamic Acid Used For
Used in Food Industry
- L-glutamic acid powder is mainly used in the production of monosodium glutamate and spices.
- Mainly used in meat, soup and poultry, as salt substitutesm nutritional supplements, flavoring agents.
- It can also be used as an inhibitor of crystallization of magnesium ammonium phosphate in canned aquatic products such as shrimp and crab, with an dosage of 0.3% to 1.6%.
- For broths and soups of convenience food, the dosage is 10g/kg.
- For beverages, bakery products, meat, meat sausages, milk and milk products, seasonings, cereal products, the dosage is 400mg/kg.
- As a nutritional supplement, the limit is 12.4% (based on the total amount of protein in food).
- L-glutamate monosodium salt has a strong meat umami taste, and is the most consumed flavoring agent in the world except sugar and salt. Especially when the PH value is 6~7, MSG is completely dissociated, and the taste is the strongest. Widely used in cooking and food processing. The general dosage is 0.2%~0.5%. The per capita daily allowable intake should not exceed 6g.
- L-glutamic acid hydrochloride is used to improve the bitterness of beer, and can also be used as a salt substitute, nutritional supplement, and flavor enhancer.
In the field of medicine
- After glutamic acid is absorbed by the human body, it is easy to form glutamine with blood ammonia, which can relieve the poisonous effect of ammonia in the metabolic process and reduce blood ammonia. So it can prevent and treat hepatic coma, protect the liver. It is an auxiliary drug for patients with liver diseases.
- Brain tissue can only oxidize glutamate, but not other amino acids. Therefore, glutamine can be used as an energy substance of brain tissue to improve and maintain brain function.
- As a tonic for the nerve center and cerebral cortex, glutamic acid has a certain effect on the treatment of concussion or nerve damage, epilepsy, and mentally handicapped children.
- The patented medicines made from glutamic acid include medicinal glutamic acid oral tablets, sodium glutamate (potassium) injection, calcium glutamate injection, acetylglutamate injection, etc.
- Combined with antiepileptic drugs, it can still treat petit mal seizures and psychomotor seizures.
- Racemic glutamate is used in the production of drugs and also as biochemical reagents, etc.
- It is usually not used alone, but used in conjunction with phenolic and quinone antioxidants to obtain a good synergistic effect.
- It can also be used to reduce ketonuria and ketosis.
- Glutamate participates in the combined deamination centered on glutamate dehydrogenase.
- Glutamic acid is used as a complexing agent for electroless plating.
Other Uses
As a nutritional supplement, glutamic acid can be used as a hair growth agent. It can be absorbed by the scalp, prevent hair loss and regenerates hair. It has nutritional functions on dermal papilla and hair mother cells. Meanwhile, it can expand blood vessels, enhance blood circulation, and has the effect of hair growth and hair loss prevention. Applied to the skin, it is effective in treating wrinkles.
More About L Glutamic Acid
- Glutamate participates in the combined deamination centered on glutamate dehydrogenase.
- In blood ammonia transport, glutamine synthetase catalyzes the combination of glutamic acid and ammonia to generate glutamine. Glutamine is neutral and non-toxic, easily permeates the cell membrane, and is the main transport form of ammonia.
- In the glucose-alanine cycle pathway, glutamate dehydrogenase in muscle catalyzes the combination of α-ketoglutarate and ammonia to form glutamate,. And then under the catalysis of alanine transaminase, glutamate with pyruvate can form α-ketoglutarate and alanine.
- In the metabolic pathway of biologically active substances, glutamic acid itself is an excitatory neurotransmitter and widely exists in the brain and spinal cord.The γ-aminobutyric acid formed by the decarboxylation of glutamic acid is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that exists widely in organisms.
- In the amino acid synthesis pathway, glutamic acid is an important precursor for the synthesis of glutamine, proline, arginine, and lysine.
- In the ornithine cycle pathway, glutamate dehydrogenase in the mitochondria removes the amino group of glutamate to provide free ammonia for the synthesis of carbamyl phosphate.Aspartate aminotransferase in the cytoplasm transfers the amino group of glutamate to oxaloacetate, and oxaloacetate then forms aspartic acid to enter the ornithine cycle. Glutamate indirectly provides the second amino group for the cycle.
Glutamic acid can be produced by proteolysis and synthesis, but fermentation is the main method for producing glutamic acid powder.
The carbon source for the production of glutamic acid by fermentation is the hydrolyzed sugar or molasses of potato, corn, tapioca starch, coconut tree starch and other starches, as well as acetic acid, liquid paraffin and other petrochemical products. Other auxiliary raw materials are inorganic salts, vitamins, etc. For example, microorganisms need an appropriate concentration of phosphorus, magnesium is an inorganic activator that stimulates the growth of bacteria, potassium salts promote acid production, and corn steep liquor provides biotin and organic nitrogen sources. In addition, various accelerators and additives are included.
Glutamate biosynthetic pathway. Glucose undergoes glycolysis and the hexose phosphate shunt to generate pyruvate, which is then oxidized to acetyl-CoA. Then enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle to generate α-ketoglutarate. α-Ketoglutaric acid is catalyzed by glutamate dehydrogenase and under the condition of NH4+ to generate glutamic acid. NH4+ is inorganic nitrogen, but inorganic nitrogen cannot directly react with α-ketoglutaric acid, and it is first to generate alanine. From α-ketoglutaric acid to glutamic acid is a transamination reaction catalyzed by alanine aminotransferase.