Potassium gluconate is the
potassium
Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...
salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
of the
conjugate base
A conjugate acid, within the Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, is a chemical compound formed when an acid gives a proton () to a base—in other words, it is a base with a hydrogen ion added to it, as it loses a hydrogen ion in the reve ...
of
gluconic acid
Gluconic acid is an organic compound with molecular formula C6H12O7 and condensed structural formula HOCH2(CHOH)4CO2H. A white solid, it forms the gluconate anion in neutral aqueous solution. The salts of gluconic acid are known as "gluconates" ...
. It is also referred to as 2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxycaproic acid potassium salt,
D-gluconic acid potassium salt, or potassium
D-gluconate.
It contains 16.69% elemental potassium by mass. Thus 5.99 g of potassium gluconate contains 1 g of potassium.
It has a density of 1.73 g/cm
3.
Dietary uses
Potassium gluconate is used as a
mineral supplement and
sequestrant. It is sold over-the-counter as tablets or capsules providing up to 593 mg of potassium gluconate, thereby containing 99 mg or 2.53
milliequivalents of elemental potassium. This is the permissible upper limit for each tablet or capsule of over-the-counter potassium supplements sold in the US. Potassium gluconate is also sold over-the-counter as bulk powder.
As a
food additive
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities. Some additives, such as vinegar ( pickling), salt ( salting), smoke ( smoking) and sugar ( crystallization), have been used f ...
, potassium gluconate is used as an
acidity regulator
Acidity regulators, or pH control agents, are food additives used to change or maintain pH ( acidity or basicity). They can be organic or mineral acids, bases, neutralizing agents, or buffering agents. Typical agents include the following ac ...
and
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...
food. It is known as
E number
E numbers, short for Europe numbers, 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 ...
reference E577.
Safety
Its oral
median lethal dose
In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 (abbreviation for " lethal dose, 50%"), LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) or LCt50 is a toxic unit that measures the lethal dose of a given substance. The value of LD50 for a substance is the dose re ...
(LD
50) in rats is 10.38 g/kg.
This is not an indicator of a safe oral daily dose in rats or humans.
References
External links
Potassium gluconate medical factsfrom
Drugs.com
Potassium gluconateon
Wolfram Alpha
WolframAlpha ( ) is an answer engine developed by Wolfram Research. It is offered as an online service that answers factual queries by computing answers from externally sourced data.
History
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{{Mineral supplements
Potassium compounds
Gluconates
E-number additives