Sorbic Acid

Abstract

Sorbic acid, ie, trans , trans ‐2,4‐hexadienoic acid, and its derivatives are commonly used as antimicrobials for food, pharmaceuticals, animal feeds, cosmetics, and industrial uses. Sorbic acid is a white crystalline solid having low water solubility but greater solubility in fats and alcohol. Potassium sorbate has greater water solubility than sorbic acid and is available as white granules or powder. Because the sorbic acid molecule contains two double bonds, oxidation occurs in the presence of molecular oxygen or peroxide compounds. Other reactions related to the chemical properties are also described. Sorbic acid can be found naturally in the oil of the ripened rowan berry. Commercially available sorbates are typically manufactured by the reaction of crotonaldehyde with a ketene to form an intermediate, which is further processed and purified. Purified forms include food and drug grades conforming to the specifications of the Food Chemicals Codex and the National Formulary . Analytical methods to quantify sorbates include titration, gas chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. Sorbic acid is metabolized to carbon dioxide and water in the same way as other food fatty acids and has low toxicity. For most food products in the United States, there are no maximum usage levels for sorbates.

Sorbic Acid as a Renewable Resource for Atom-Economic and Selective Production of p-Toluic Acid and Alkyl-p-Toluates: Intermediates to Bioterephthalic Acid and Esters

“…This industrial pathway was developed and has been exploited for decades by Union Carbide to overcome safety issues connected with the ketene−crotonaldehyde route. 28 Our goal is to take advantage of the sorbic acid route to integrate p-toluic acid or alkyl p-toluates as intermediates for production of TPA and dimethylterephthalate (DMT), respectively, by the Amoco and Dynamit-Nobel processes. (See Figure S1 in the electronic Supporting Information (ESI).)…”

“…Since quantities extracted from the Sorbus aucuparia are limited, biosourced sorbic acid can also be synthesized from bioethanol after oxidation into acetaldehyde, trimerization to 2,4-hexadienal (sorbaldehyde), and final oxidation to sorbic acid. This industrial pathway was developed and has been exploited for decades by Union Carbide to overcome safety issues connected with the ketene–crotonaldehyde route . Our goal is to take advantage of the sorbic acid route to integrate p -toluic acid or alkyl p -toluates as intermediates for production of TPA and dimethylterephthalate (DMT), respectively, by the Amoco and Dynamit-Nobel processes.…”

Effect of Sorbic Acid and Potassium Sorbate Addition to the Brine on Microbiological and Chemical Properties of Turkish White Cheese during Ripening

“…No single mechanism appears to explain the range of toxicity to various spoilage organisms. Sorbic acid, as being straight chain monocarboxylic fatty acid, inhibits the transport of carbohydrates into yeast cells, inhibits oxidative and fermentative assimilation, and uncouples oxidative phosphorylation in a variety of bacteria (Dorko, Ford, Baggett, Behling & Carman 1997;Ucuncu 1980;Oztek 1983;Kıvanc 1990). Other mechanisms proposed appear to be related to the inability of molds to metabolize sorbic acid (Lindsay 1996).…”

Determination of Oil Quality and Antifungal Effect of Selected Citronella Accessions (Cymbopogon nardus, Cymbopogon winterianus) to Formulate an Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

“…A commonly used cosmetic ingredient, Cocamidopropyl betaine was used as a co-surfactant to increase the function of the SLSA (Hunter and Fowler, 1998), and Sorbic acid with low toxicity was used as the natural preservative (Dorko et al, 2000). Sodium chloride was effectively used as a salt work as a thickening agent (Penfield, 2005) whereas Polysorbate 80 was used as an emulsifier for the Citronella essential oils which are non-soluble in water (Ariff, Jai, Jamaludin and Ibrahim, 2022).…”