Glucono-delta-lactone (GDL), also known as gluconolactone, is a
food additive
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve 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), salt (salt ...
with the
E-number E575 used as a
sequestrant, an
acidifier, or a
curing
A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease.
Cure, or similar, may also refer to:
Places
* Cure (river), a river in France
* Cures, Sabinum, an ancient Italian town
* Cures, Sarthe, a commune in western France
People
* Curate or ...
,
pickling, or
leavening agent. It is a
lactone of
D-
gluconic acid. Pure GDL is a white odorless
crystalline powder.
GDL has been marketed for use in
feta cheese. GDL is pH-neutral, but hydrolyses in water to gluconic acid which is acidic, adding a tangy taste to foods, though it has roughly a third of the
sourness of
citric acid. It is metabolized to
6-phospho-D-gluconate; one gram of GDL yields roughly the same amount of
metabolic
Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...
energy as one gram of
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
.
Upon addition to water, GDL is partially
hydrolysed to gluconic acid, with the balance between the lactone form and the acid form established as a
chemical equilibrium. The rate of hydrolysis of GDL is increased by heat and high
pH.
The yeast ''
Saccharomyces bulderi'' can be used to ferment gluconolactone to ethanol and carbon dioxide. The pH value greatly affects culture growth. Gluconolactone at 1 or 2% in a mineral media solution causes the pH to drop below 3.
It is also a complete inhibitor of the enzyme
amygdalin beta-glucosidase at concentrations of 1 mM.
See also
*
Glucuronolactone
References
{{reflist
Food acidity regulators
Curing agents
Delta-lactones
Pickling agents
Leavening agents
Sequestrants
Garde manger
Tetrahydropyrans
E-number additives