Dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) is a colorless liquid and a pungent odor at high concentration at

room temperature Colloquially, "room temperature" is a range of air temperatures that most people prefer for indoor settings. It feels comfortable to a person when they are wearing typical indoor clothing. Human comfort can extend beyond this range depending on ...

. It is primarily used as a beverage

preservative A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or b ...

, processing aid, or

sterilant Sterilization refers to any process that removes, kills, or deactivates all forms of life (particularly microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, spores, and unicellular eukaryotic organisms) and other biological agents such as prions present in o ...

( INS No. 242) being highly active against typical beverage spoiling microorganisms like yeast, bacteria, or mould.

Usage

Dimethyl dicarbonate is used to stabilize beverages by preventing microbial spoilage. It can be used in various non-alcoholic as well as alcoholic drinks like wine, cider, beer-mix beverages or hard seltzers. Beverage spoiling microbes are killed by methoxycarbonylation of proteins. It acts by inhibiting enzymes involved in the microbial metabolism, e.g. acetate kinase and L-glutamic acid decarboxylase.
/ref> It has also been proposed that DMDC inhibits the enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase and

glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (abbreviated GAPDH) () is an enzyme of about 37kDa that catalyzes the sixth step of glycolysis and thus serves to break down glucose for energy and carbon molecules. In addition to this long establishe ...

by causing the methoxycarbonylation of their

histidine Histidine (symbol His or H) is an essential amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated –NH3+ form under biological conditions), a carboxylic acid group (which is in the ...

components.DMDC's role in bottle stability - dimethyl dicarbonate
, Wines & Vines, Oct 1990 In

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

, it is often used to replace potassium sorbate, as it inactivates wine spoilage yeasts such as ''

Brettanomyces ''Brettanomyces'' is a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae, and is often colloquially referred to as "Brett". The genus name ''Dekkera'' is used interchangeably with ''Brettanomyces'', as it describes the teleomorp ...

''. Once it has been added to beverages, the efficacy of the chemical is provided by the following reactions: :DMDC + water → methanol + carbon dioxide :DMDC + ethanol → ethyl methyl carbonate :DMDC + ammonia → methyl carbamate :DMDC +

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha ...

→ derived carboxymethyl The application of DMDC is particularly useful when wine needs to be sterilized but cannot be sterile filtered,

pasteurized Pasteurization American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mi ...

, or sulfured. DMDC is also used to stabilize non-alcoholic beverages such as carbonated or non-carbonated juice beverages, isotonic sports beverages, iced teas and flavored waters. DMDC is added before the filling of the beverage. It then breaks down into small amounts of

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is ...

and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

, which are both natural constituents of fruit and vegetable juices. The EU

Scientific Committee on Food The Scientific Committee on Food (SCF), established in 1974, was the main committee providing the European Commission with scientific advice on food safety. "Scientific Committee on Food - FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY" (overview), Gov.uk, F ...

, the FDA in the United States and the JECFA of the WHO have confirmed the safe use in beverages. The FDA approved its use in wines in 1988, with the maximum level being permitted set at 200 mg/L, and only if there were fewer than 500 yeast cells/mL at time of dosage. It is also approved in the EU, where it is listed under

E number E numbers ("E" stands for "Europe") are codes for substances used as food additives, including those found naturally in many foods such as vitamin C, for use within the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Commonly ...

E242, as well as Australia and New Zealand.Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, Application A1015 - Classification of Dimethyl Dicarbonate - Approval Report -15 December 2010

References

External links

Dimethyl dicarbonate at EPA SRSDimethyl dicarbonate and microbiological stability
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimethyl Dicarbonate Winemaking Preservatives Methyl esters Methylating agents Dicarbonates E-number additives

Usage

See also

References

External links