Chemistry:Malic acid

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Short description: Dicarboxylic acid responsible for apple acidity
Malic acid
Skeletal structure
Ball-and-stick model
Sample of racemic malic acid.jpg
DL-Malic acid
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
2-Hydroxybutanedioic acid
Other names
  • Hydroxybutanedioic acid
  • 2-Hydroxysuccinic acid
  • (L/D)-Malic acid
  • (±)-Malic acid
  • (S/R)-Hydroxybutanedioic acid
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
EC Number
  • 230-022-8
KEGG
UNII
Properties
C4H6O5
Molar mass 134.09 g/mol
Appearance Colorless
Density 1.609 g⋅cm−3
Melting point 130 °C (266 °F; 403 K)
558 g/L (at 20 °C)[1]
Acidity (pKa) pKa1 = 3.40
pKa2 = 5.20[2]
Hazards
GHS pictograms GHS07: Harmful
Flash point 203 °C[3]
Related compounds
Other anions
Malate
Succinic acid
Tartaric acid
Fumaric acid
Related compounds
Butanol
Butyraldehyde
Crotonaldehyde
Sodium malate
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Infobox references
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Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula C
4
H
6
O
5
. It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms (L- and D-enantiomers), though only the L-isomer exists naturally. The salts and esters of malic acid are known as malates. The malate anion is a metabolic intermediate in the citric acid cycle.

Etymology

The word 'malic' is derived from Latin mālum, meaning 'apple'. The related Latin word mālus, meaning 'apple tree', is used as the name of the genus Malus, which includes all apples and crabapples;[4] and the origin of other taxonomic classifications such as Maloideae, Malinae, and Maleae.

Biochemistry

L-Malic acid is the naturally occurring form, whereas a mixture of L- and D-malic acid is produced synthetically.

Malate plays an important role in biochemistry. In the C4 carbon fixation process, malate is a source of CO2 in the Calvin cycle. In the citric acid cycle, (S)-malate is an intermediate, formed by the addition of an -OH group on the si face of fumarate. It can also be formed from pyruvate via anaplerotic reactions.

Malate is also synthesized by the carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate in the guard cells of plant leaves. Malate, as a double anion, often accompanies potassium cations during the uptake of solutes into the guard cells in order to maintain electrical balance in the cell. The accumulation of these solutes within the guard cell decreases the solute potential, allowing water to enter the cell and promote aperture of the stomata.

In food

Malic acid was first isolated from apple juice by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1785.[5] Antoine Lavoisier in 1787 proposed the name acide malique, which is derived from the Latin word for apple, mālum—as is its genus name Malus.[6][7] In German it is named Äpfelsäure (or Apfelsäure) after plural or singular of a sour thing from the apple fruit, but the salt(s) are called Malat(e). Malic acid is the main acid in many fruits, including apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, mirabelles, peaches, pears, plums, and quince[8] and is present in lower concentrations in other fruits, such as citrus.[9] It contributes to the sourness of unripe apples. Sour apples contain high proportions of the acid. It is present in grapes and in most wines with concentrations sometimes as high as 5 g/L.[10] It confers a tart taste to wine; the amount decreases with increasing fruit ripeness. The taste of malic acid is very clear and pure in rhubarb, a plant for which it is the primary flavor. It is also the compound responsible for the tart flavor of sumac spice. It is also a component of some artificial vinegar flavors, such as "salt and vinegar" flavored potato chips.[11]

In citrus, fruits produced in organic farming contain higher levels of malic acid than fruits produced in conventional agriculture.[9]

The process of malolactic fermentation converts malic acid to much milder lactic acid. Malic acid occurs naturally in all fruits and many vegetables, and is generated in fruit metabolism.[12]

Malic acid, when added to food products, is denoted by E number E296. It is sometimes used with or in place of the less sour citric acid in sour sweets. These sweets are sometimes labeled with a warning stating that excessive consumption can cause irritation of the mouth. It is approved for use as a food additive in the EU,[13] US[14] and Australia and New Zealand[15] (where it is listed by its INS number 296).

Malic acid contains 10 kJ (2.39 kilocalories) of energy per gram.[16]

Production and main reactions

Racemic malic acid is produced industrially by the double hydration of maleic anhydride. In 2000, American production capacity was 5,000 tons per year. The enantiomers may be separated by chiral resolution of the racemic mixture. S-Malic acid is obtained by fermentation of fumaric acid.[17]

Self-condensation of malic acid in the presence of fuming sulfuric acid gives the pyrone coumalic acid:[18]

Coumalic Acid Synthesis

Note that this scheme is incorrect. 4 H2O and 2 CO (carbon monoxide, not carbon dioxide) are liberated during the condensation.

Malic acid was important in the discovery of the Walden inversion and the Walden cycle, in which (−)-malic acid first is converted into (+)-chlorosuccinic acid by action of phosphorus pentachloride. Wet silver oxide then converts the chlorine compound to (+)-malic acid, which then reacts with PCl5 to the (−)-chlorosuccinic acid. The cycle is completed when silver oxide takes this compound back to (−)-malic acid.

Uses

L-malic acid is used to resolve α-phenylethylamine, a versatile resolving agent in its own right.[19]

Plant defense

Soil supplementation with molasses increases microbial synthesis of MA. This is thought to occur naturally as part of soil microbe suppression of disease, so soil amendment with molasses can be used as a crop treatment in horticulture.[20]

Interactive pathway map

See also

References

  1. "chemBlink Database of Chemicals from Around the World". chemblink.com. http://chemblink.com/products/6915-15-7.htm. 
  2. Data for biochemical research (3rd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1986. ISBN 0-19-855358-7. OCLC 11865673. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11865673. 
  3. "DL-Malic acid - (DL-Malic acid) SDS". https://www.merckmillipore.com/en/product/msds/MDA_CHEM-100383. 
  4. Peffley, Ellen. "Peffley: Crabapples steal the show in autumn" (in en-US). https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/lifestyle/home-garden/2021/11/23/peffley-crabapples-steal-show-autumn/8716819002/. 
  5. Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1785) "Om Frukt- och Bår-syran" (On fruit and berry acid), Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens Nya Handlingar (New Proceedings of the Royal Academy of Science), 6 : 17-27. From page 21: " ... vil jag hådanefter kalla den Åple-syran." ( ... I will henceforth call it apple acid.)
  6. de Morveau, Lavoisier, Bertholet, and de Fourcroy, Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique (Paris, France: Cuchet, 1787), p. 108.
  7. Jensen, William B. (June 2007). "The Origin of the Names Malic, Maleic, and Malonic Acid" (in en). Journal of Chemical Education 84 (6): 924. doi:10.1021/ed084p924. ISSN 0021-9584. Bibcode2007JChEd..84..924J. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed084p924. 
  8. Tabelle I of "Fruchtsäuren". http://www.spektrum.de/lexikon/biologie/fruchtsaeuren/25817. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 Duarte, A.M.; Caixeirinho, D.; Miguel, M.G.; Sustelo, V.; Nunes, C.; Fernandes, M.M.; Marreiros, A. (2012). "Organic Acids Concentration in Citrus Juice from Conventional Versus Organic Farming". Acta Horticulturae 933 (933): 601–606. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2012.933.78. ISSN 0567-7572. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/216429503. 
  10. Ough, C. S. (1988). Methods for analysis of musts and wines (2nd ed.). New York: J. Wiley. pp. 67. ISBN 0-471-62757-7. OCLC 16866762. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16866762. 
  11. "The Science Behind Salt and Vinegar Chips". seriouseats.com. http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/09/the-best-salt-and-vinegar-chips-tasting-brands-most-acidic.html. 
  12. Malic Acid , Bartek Ingredients (retrieved 2 February 2012)
  13. UK Food Standards Agency: "Current EU approved additives and their E Numbers". http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating/chemsafe/additivesbranch/enumberlist. 
  14. "Food Additive Status List". FDA. 26 August 2021. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/food-additive-status-list. Retrieved 5 May 2022. 
  15. Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code"Standard 1.2.4 - Labelling of ingredients". http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2011C00827. 
  16. Greenfield, Heather; Southgate, D.A.T. (2003). Food composition data: production, management and use (2 ed.). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 146. ISBN 9789251049495. https://books.google.com/books?id=KQRzKDr9bgcC&pg=PA146. Retrieved 10 February 2014. 
  17. Karlheinz Miltenberge. "Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a13_507. 
  18. Richard H. Wiley, Newton R. Smith (1951). "Coumalic acid". Organic Syntheses 31: 23. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.031.0023. 
  19. A. W. Ingersoll (1937). "D- and l-α-Phenylethylamine". Organic Syntheses 17: 80. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.017.0080. 
  20. Rosskopf, Erin; Di Gioia, Francesco; Hong, Jason C.; Pisani, Cristina; Kokalis-Burelle, Nancy (2020-08-25). "Organic Amendments for Pathogen and Nematode Control". Annual Review of Phytopathology (Annual Reviews) 58 (1): 277–311. doi:10.1146/annurev-phyto-080516-035608. ISSN 0066-4286. PMID 32853099. 

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