Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids ( E471) refers to a naturally occurring class of

food additive Food additives are substances added to food to preserve Taste, flavor or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries as part of an effort to preserve food, for example vinegar (pickling), sal ...

composed of diglycerides and monoglycerides which is used as an

emulsifier An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althoug ...

. It is also used as a fruit coating agent. This mixture is also sometimes referred to as partial glycerides.

Synthesis

Monoglycerides and diglycerides are both naturally present in various

seed oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fa ...

s, however their concentration is usually low and industrial production is primarily achieved by a

glycerolysis In organic chemistry glycerolysis refers to any process in which chemical bonds are broken via a reaction with glycerol. The term refers almost exclusively to the transesterification reaction of glycerol with triglycerides (fats/oils) to form mi ...

reaction between

triglycerides A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride''). Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as we ...

(fats/oils) and

glycerol Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

. The raw materials of this may be either

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

fats and oils.

Concerns for vegan, vegetarian and religious diets

E471 is mainly produced from vegetable oils (such as soybean), although animal fats are sometimes used and cannot be completely excluded as being present in the product. The fatty acids from each source are chemically identical.

The Vegan Society The Vegan Society is a registered charity and the oldest vegan organization in the world, founded in the United Kingdom in 1944 by Donald Watson, Elsie Shrigley, George Henderson and his wife Fay Henderson among others. History In November, ...

, which discourages eating animal-based foods, flags E471 as potentially animal based.

Other uses

In the late 2010s, the company

Apeel Sciences Apeel Sciences is a company based in Goleta, California whose edible coating product Apeel can make avocados, citrus and other types of fruit last twice as long as usual by using a tasteless edible coating made from plant materials. The coating's ...

entered the market in parts of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, China, and Japan with monoacylglycerols as an alternative to

plastic film Plastic film is a thin continuous polymeric material. Thicker plastic material is often called a "sheet". These thin plastic membranes are used to separate areas or volumes, to hold items, to act as barriers, or as printable surfaces. Plas ...

s to prevent withering and conserving fruit and vegetables for transport and storage.https://www.fda.gov/media/99218/download

References

External links

Food-Info.net: E-numbers: E471
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2019 Food additives Fatty acid esters E-number additives Glycerol esters

Synthesis

Concerns for vegan, vegetarian and religious diets

Other uses

See also

References

External links