L-Malic Acid's Application Prospects

Applications in the Food Industry:

Malic acid is used in the food industry as a food and beverage preservative, firming agent, flavor enhancer, and seasoning. Residual amounts of it may cause skin irritation, such as redness or a burning sensation. It aims to investigate the photooxidation process of malic acid by separating and analyzing its derivatives.

L-Malic acid is an essential component of natural fruit juices. Compared to citric acid, it has higher acidity but a milder taste, a unique aroma, doesn't harm the mouth or teeth, and promotes amino acid absorption without accumulating fat. It is considered the "ideal food acidulant" in the biological and nutritional fields and is gradually replacing citric acid in products for the elderly and children.

L-Malic acid is a necessary organic acid for the human body and is an ideal low-calorie food additive. When used in conjunction with 20% citric acid, a combination of 50% L-Malic acid can provide a strong natural fruit flavor.

Beverages: Soft drinks prepared with L-Malic acid are refreshing and have an apple-like flavor, resembling natural fruit juice.

L-Malic acid is an intermediate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle of organisms, has a taste close to natural fruit juice, and a natural aroma. Compared to citric acid, it has lower caloric content and better taste, making it widely used in various food products, including alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, jams, and chewing gum, with a trend to replace citric acid.

Applications in the Personal Care Industry:

L-Malic acid has found wide usage in skincare products such as moisturizers, cleansers, eye creams, sunscreens, and foundations. It imparts a refreshing and pleasant fruity aroma to cosmetic products, enhancing their fragrance appeal. Additionally, L-Malic acid is used as a fragrance stabilizer, prolonging the scent's longevity in cosmetic products and improving the overall user experience.

Furthermore, L-Malic acid contains natural moisturizing properties with multiple skincare benefits, including promoting collagen production, providing antioxidant effects, and skin whitening. It is often added to skincare products and masks, effectively reducing blemishes, tightening pores, improving skin texture, and making the skin appear brighter, smoother, and more elastic. Lastly, L-Malic acid is particularly notable in anti-aging products, effectively inhibiting skin aging processes, reducing wrinkles, and maintaining youthful skin.

Safety Review in Cosmetics

A panel of cosmetic ingredient safety experts has conducted a review of the safety of malic acid and sodium malate in cosmetics. These ingredients are reported to be used as fragrance ingredients and pH adjusters in cosmetics, with sodium malate acting as a skin conditioning agent and moisturizer. The expert panel reviewed existing data to determine the safety of these ingredients in cosmetics. The conclusion is that, based on current usage practices and concentrations described in safety assessments, malic acid and sodium malate are considered safe in cosmetics.

Applications in the Pharmaceutical Industry:

As an important component of Polycefin and PMLA multifunctional drug delivery platforms, apple acid polymers can be used in the treatment of brain tumors, demonstrating their potential in drug delivery. Additionally, apple acid acts as an effective disinfectant, showing a clear killing effect on avian influenza viruses and expanding its applications to the field of disinfection. From drug delivery to disinfection, apple acid displays enormous potential applications.

Apple Acid Polymers (Polycefin): Comprising β-L-malic acid polymers, antisense oligonucleotides, monoclonal antibodies, release units, and protective polyethylene glycol, Polycefin serves as a multifunctional drug delivery platform. It achieves specific and targeted delivery to brain tumors without toxicity to normal cells. A study specifically targeted brain and breast tumors, and after delivering antisense oligonucleotides, it significantly inhibited tumor vascularization and improved animal survival rates. Therefore, Polycefin is considered a promising drug delivery tool for multi-targeted therapy, particularly for brain tumor treatment.

Apple Acid Polymers (PMLA): Research focuses on the application of degradable polymers in drug delivery, and poly malic acid (PMLA) and its derivatives have garnered significant attention. These derivatives can be prepared from malic acid obtained through microbial or synthetic pathways and are used to prepare water-soluble drug carriers or nanoparticles. Research results suggest that these poly malic acid ester materials have potential applications in drug delivery. In vivo and in vitro experiments emphasize their effectiveness and feasibility in drug delivery.

Apple Acid in Disinfectants: A study evaluated the virucidal effects of disinfectants containing apple acid, citric acid, and phosphoric acid on avian influenza viruses. The results showed that the disinfectant containing apple acid had virucidal efficacy at 200-fold and 50-fold dilutions under hard water and organic suspension conditions, respectively. This indicates the potential importance of apple acid in preventing the spread of viral diseases in animals.

Efficacy of Multi-Ingredient Sprays: The study also investigated the antiviral efficacy of disinfectant sprays containing multiple ingredients, including apple acid, grapefruit seed extract, citric acid, and benzalkonium chloride, against avian influenza viruses. The results demonstrated that the multi-ingredient disinfectant spray had antiviral efficacy at 7-fold and 3-fold dilutions under hard water and organic matter conditions, respectively, showing its effective antiviral activity.

Applications in the Materials Industry:

Apple acid polymers have significant potential in optimizing the treatment of winery wastewater and sustainable food packaging materials. By preparing and controlling the performance of mixed membranes, apple acid polymers can adapt to various wastewater conditions, thereby improving treatment efficiency. Additionally, apple acid derivatives, as sustainable food packaging materials, exhibit high thermal stability and gas barrier properties, making them a potential sustainable alternative to disposable plastic packaging, reducing environmental pollution.

Treatment of Winery Wastewater with Apple Acid Polymers: Research indicates that a combination of poly(malic acid-citric acid) (PMC) with cellulose acetate (CA) and chitosan (CS) can be used to prepare a new type of green polymer blend membrane for microfiltration of winery wastewater. By changing the PMC proportion in the membrane composition, the membrane performance can be controlled to adapt to hard water conditions and winery wastewater containing organic matter. Different ratios of CA/CS/PMC mixed membranes showed varying permeation fluxes and had a significant impact on indicators such as total dissolved solids, conductivity, and salinity when treating winery wastewater. It is evident that green polymer blend membranes containing apple acid exhibit significant potential in winery wastewater treatment.

Apple Acid Derivatives as Sustainable Food Packaging Materials: A study synthesized engineering polyesters with a rigid chain segment containing biobased naphthalene dicarboxylate, derived from apple acid. Compared to PET, these new polymers have a similar glass transition temperature but higher thermal stability, making them suitable for a wider temperature range. They produce fewer carbon black and acetaldehyde, with lower oxygen permeability, making them particularly suitable for packaging requiring high gas barrier properties. Therefore, these high-performance biobased polymers derived from apple acid have the potential to become sustainable alternatives to disposable plastic packaging, reducing carbon emissions and environmental pollution. Apple acid demonstrates its importance in this context. Further research into the applications of apple acid will promote the development of more environmentally friendly synthetic materials, benefiting both the environment and society.

Applications in the Agricultural Industry:

Apple acid provides a useful method for regulating the essential oil components of medicinal plants. It alters the secondary metabolites of plants, leading to significant changes in essential oil components. In rosemary, the use of apple acid increases the concentration of certain components. In coriander, the application of apple acid results in the disappearance of specific compounds, deepening the understanding of plant chemical components and providing important clues for optimizing essential oil production.

Effect of Apple Acid on Rosemary Essential Oil Components: Apple acid and salicylic acid significantly change the secondary metabolites of both plants, leading to significant changes in essential oil components. In rosemary, these acidic compounds increase the content of certain components while decreasing the concentration of others. In coriander, the application of apple acid leads to an increase and disappearance of specific compounds. These findings provide promising avenues for manipulating the essential oil components of medicinal plants, contributing to a deeper understanding of the regulation of plant chemical components and providing important insights for the optimization of essential oil production.

Effect of Apple Acid on Coriander Essential Oil Components: Apple acid leads to a decrease in compounds such as dihydrolinalool and cilantro phenol, while increasing the content of α-pinene. Apple acid also increases the content of α-pinene. Importantly, certain compounds even disappear under specific combinations. This suggests that apple acid and citric acid can serve as promising tools for manipulating the components of medicinal plant essential oils. This research helps to better understand the influence of acidic compounds on plant secondary metabolism and provides valuable information for optimizing the production of medicinal plant essential oils.

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Seebio offers commercial acidamine condensation reagents, for specifications and requirements, please contact：service@seebio.cn.

Cat. No.	Cas	Grade	Specifications
AJL0622A-10g	97-67-6	98%	10g
AJL0622A-50g	97-67-6	98%	50g
AJL0622A-500g	97-67-6	98%	500g
AJL0622A-1Kg	97-67-6	98%	1Kg

Reference：

[1] Yong‐Jun Chen et al.Impact of dietary L-malic acid supplementation on growth, feed utilization, ash deposition, and hepatic lipid metabolism of juvenile genetically improved farmed tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Biology 2017
[2] M. Antonelli et al.A microcalorimetric sensor for food and cosmetic analyses: l-Malic acid determination. Chemistry, Medicine 2008
[3] E. Yan et al. Effects of Dietary L-malic Acid Supplementation on Meat Quality, Antioxidant Capacity and Muscle Fiber Characteristics of Finishing Pigs Medicine 2022
[4] Zhenghao Chi et al.Microbial biosynthesis and secretion of l-malic acid and its applications Biology, Engineering 2016
[5] Bong-Seop Lee et al.Polycefin, a new prototype of a multifunctional nanoconjugate based on poly(beta-L-malic acid) for drug delivery. Biology, Chemistry 2006