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Alanine (DL)

Purposes of use
Cosmetics
Foods
Industrial products
Medical materials
Components
DL-Alanine
CAS No.
302-72-7

DL-Alanine is an Amino Acid that provides both umami and sweetness, which is contained in many food products and one of the ingredients that determine the umami of food.
Alanine also works well with other seasonings to enhance the umami of food. In addition, it works as a masking agent that moderates excessive acidity, saltiness, bitterness, etc.

In recent years, alanine has been receiving increasing recognition as an amino acid used for promoting gluconeogenesis and lipid metabolism in the body, and has been highly recognized from a viewpoint of fatigue recovery function, etc. in the sports nutrition field.

Basic information

What is Alanine?

In Alanine, the structural isomers of α-Alanine (alpha Alanine) and β-Alanine (beta Alanine) exist.

Rational formula for α-Alanine: CH₃CH(NH₂)COOH
Rational formula for β-Alanine: NH₂C₂H₄COOH

Alanine that is widely known in the market as one of amino acids or a food additive is α-Alanine.
β-Alanine is a structural isomer of α-Alanine, which was approved to be used for healthy foods through the revision of the food and drug classification in 2019.
These 2 kinds of Alanine are said to have different tastes and roles in the body.
We manufacture and sell α-Alanine.

α-Alanine (chemical name: 2-Aminopropionic Acid) is a 3-carbon neutral amino acid with a carboxyl group and an amino group in the molecule, which is a nonessential amino acid. It has asymmetric carbon in the molecule, and there exist L-Alanine and D-Alanine in a sterically enantiomorphic relationship.

DL-Alanine, an equal mixture of L-Alanine and D-Alanine, and L-Alanine are approved to be used as food additives, and mainly used in the healthy food area.
D-Alanine has been used as a synthetic raw material for agricultural chemicals and pharmaceutical products. In addition, it has been recently reported that D-Alanine has a biological activity that is different from that of L-Alanine with regard to its additive effect toward cosmetics and food.

Alanine (both L-Alanine and D-Alanine) is found widely in the natural world as a proteinogenic amino acid. Further, it is known to be contained in many kinds of food, and it is said to be one of the main components of umami ingredient in delicious and popular Green soybeans.
Mulberry leaves, silk, and freshwater clams are high in Alanine as well, and it caught attention when it was reported that consuming Alanine can promote fat burning and improve liver function.
In addition to the applications to food products, Alanine’s new effect in the use for cosmetic products and the application as a plating chemical are re-evaluated.

Package unit, packing style

20kg Paper bag

Certification

We obtained the  halal and kosher certifications.

Features (information on components, physical properties)

 

Chemical name,

IUPAC name

DL-Alanine
Another nameDL-2-Aminopropanoic Acid
CAS No.302-72-7
Chemical formula
CH3CH(NH2)COOH
Structural formula
Molecular weight89.10
PropertiesWhite crystalline powder
Melting point

264 ~ 296℃ (Decomposed)

Solubility16.7 g/100 mL water (25℃)
Isoelectric point
pI=6.00 (pKCOOH=2.34、pKNH2=9.69)

*For detailed information on harmfulness and data on properties of Alanine, please see the safety data sheet (SDS).

Product specs

Product type

Alanine (DL-Alanine)
This product is the food additive “DL-Alanine.”

Product Specifications

For further information, please contact us.

Main purposes of use and effects

Main purposes of use

FoodsProcessed agricultural products (pickles, etc.), fish sauce, fish paste products (fish cake, etc.), processed meat products (ham, etc.), seasonings (soup, sauce, etc.), snacks and beverages
Pharmaceuticals and healthy FoodsSynthetic raw material for pharmaceutical products
Cosmetic productsRaw materials for cosmetic products
Industrial usePlating chemicals and animal feed

Use as an umami seasoning

One of the oldest usages of alanine in history is adding it to synthetic sake, to provide richness and remove pungency like refined sake.
Nowadays, it is widely used in pickles, soup, sauce, soy sauce, miso paste, broth, and fish cake, to provide flavor and richness to these food products.

Use for sweeteners

Alanine has delicate and refreshing sweetness, much stronger sweetness than sugar.
Traditionally, Alanine was used to improve the taste quality of artificial sweeteners like saccharin, and it has been recently discovered that a sweetener preparation suitable for a target food can be prepared by combining different high-intensity sweeteners such as Aspartame, Acesulfame Potassium, and Sucralose, as well as by modifying the blending ratio of Alanine.

Effects to moderate bitterness, astringent taste, and harsh taste and bring out umami (masking agent)

Alanine moderates various bitterness, astringent taste, and harsh taste and brings out umami.

Milder saltiness
Alanine moderates the intensity of saltiness and enhances umami.

Milder vinegar taste
Alanine moderates acidity without affecting the pH balance significantly.

Other effects
Alanine moderate bitterness, astringent taste, and harsh taste (masking effect).

Improvement in alcohol-related liver diseases

Alcohol is decomposed in the liver and turns into Acetaldehyde, which causes hangover.
Hepatic glycogen is necessary for decomposing Acetaldehyde, and it is said that Alanine is a material for hepatic glycogen and helps promote the effect of decomposing Acetaldehyde.
In recent years, research around Amino Acids including alanine for improvement of liver function has been conducted.

Effects on the skin

Alanine is one of the natural moisturizing factors (NMF) that generally exist in the stratum corneum. Approximately 40% of the NMF are composed of free Amino Acids, and these Amino Acids are composed of Serine (30%), Glycine (18%) and Alanine (9%). Amino Acids including Alanine provide a high moisturizing effect in the stratum corneum, which prevents the surface of the skin from becoming alkaline, while enhancing the barrier function of the stratum corneum and moisturizing the skin.
Leveraging such functions, Amino Acids are widely applied to areas like skin lotion and shampoo nowadays.

Adding Alanine to the electroless plating bath

Alanine is a 3-carbon neutral Amino Acid.

  • It has an amino group and a carboxyl group in the molecule. These functional groups combine with metal ions to produce chelate, which is expected to dissociate metal through the reaction upon electroless plating, and forms a good film on the surface.
  • As chelate has a higher stability constant, it can increase the metal concentration in the plating solution.
  • Alanine is an Amino Acid abundantly found in nature, and it is safe.
  • As it is a neutral Amino Acid and holds cushioning properties, the pH balance in the plating solution will not change to extreme acidity or alkali.
  • Alanine’s stability constants of various metals differ from those of another neutral Amino Acid, Glycine. Because of these differences, it is expected to potentially achieve the improvement of the plating film.
  • Neutral Amino Acids stabilize the reducing agents for the electroless plating such as formaldehyde by producing additional compounds*. This effect prevents the development of metal precipitation caused by the unexpected occurrence of the reduction in the plating solution. Further, because a stabilization triggered by the production of additional compounds of neutral Amino Acids and Formaldehyde is a reversible reaction, the decomposition of the compound releases Formaldehyde with the consumption of formaldehyde. Consequently, the plating solution becomes stable.

*Electroless Plating, Basics and Applications, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun

Stability constant of major complexing agents

Sort of metalsAlanineGlycineLactic AcidMalic Acid
Ag+4.93.5
Cu2+8.48.6
Ni2+4.56.21.61.8
Zn2+5.25.51.93.7

Based on the above information, using alanine in the plating process can provide various positive effects.

Product features

Typical umami ingredients

Alanine is one of the components for umami contained in various kinds of food such as seafood and meat.
When used alone, alanine can provide sufficient umami and fulfill its purpose as an umami seasoning; however, it enhances its umami when combined with other umami seasonings.

Total amount of Alanine found in 100 g of edible portion of food

FoodContent (mg)
Dried bonito flakes4400
Dried seaweed4200
Prawn1100
Chicken830~1400
Beef720~1200

Sodium L-glutamate has a synergistic enhancement effect on umami when combined with the nucleoside taste components such as sodium 5’-guanylate.
A unique effect appears in connection with umami, when alanine is combined with these 2 component systems, and a remarkable synergetic effect of the umami appears even when one of the 3 ingredients falls below the threshold of concentration.

Amino acids with weak browning reaction

Alanine is an amino acid that causes less browning that is usually triggered by the Maillard reaction, one of the causes of discoloration in food.

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