Properties and Applications of Acetoin

3-Hydroxybutazone, also known as acetoin, is naturally found in many foods such as corn, grapes, cocoa, apples, bananas, cheese, meat, etc. Because of its unique creamy flavor, it is mostly used as a flavor enhancer for cream, cheese, coffee, nuts, and also used in the preparation of cream, dairy products, yogurt and strawberry flavors. In addition, beer flavor, cheese flavor are related to 3-hydroxybutanone.

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, the consumption of dairy products has continued to increase, making the consumption of 3-hydroxybutanone continuously increasing. The research on the production method and application of 3-hydroxybutanone has attracted widespread attention.

The molecular formula of 3-hydroxybutanone is CHO, the molecular weight is 88.12, and there are two chiral isomers.

3-Hydroxybutanone monomer is a colorless or light yellow liquid with a creamy aroma. Two molecules of 3-hydroxybutanone are easily polymerized into dimers. The dimers are white crystalline powders with a melting point of 15℃and a boiling point of 148℃. Pyrophoric, soluble in water, soluble in ethanol, propylene glycol, slightly soluble in ether, almost insoluble in vegetable oil.

Acetoin is a commonly used spice species in the world. It is mainly used for the production of spices such as cream, dairy products, yogurt and strawberry. The national standard GB2760-1986 stipulates that it is a permitted food spice. 3-Hydroxybutanone with 80% content is commonly known as “vinegar hum”, which is an extremely important variety in alcohol flavoring. Because of its extremely wide application range and large dosage, this product is an important variety in milk and wine spices, and is favored by perfumers.

3-Hydroxy-2-butanone can also synthesize the antibacterial drug lempicillin hydrochloride. Ampicillin hydrochloride is the prodrug of semi-synthetic penicillin and ampicillin, can be taken orally, has good stability in the stomach, absorbs quickly, and has a high concentration in the blood. Ampicillin and bacancilin are small and have low toxicity. Using 3-hydroxy-2-butanone as the starting material, synthesize 4-bromomethyl 5-methyl-13-dioxolane-2-one through phthalein chlorination, ring formation, dehydrochlorination and bromination, and then Under base catalysis, it can be condensed with ampicillin to form lempicillin hydrochloride.

3-Hydroxybutanone, 1-penten-3-ol, 1-pentanol and other components have typical aroma characteristics, which have a good influence on tobacco leaf aroma, and are the main material basis for the special aroma style of special-flavor flue-cured tobacco varieties.

With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, the demand for milk flavor 3-hydroxybutanone will increase. Therefore, the research on the production and application of 3-hydroxybutanone is carried out, especially the environment-friendly, rich source of raw materials and mild conditions.  The product can be regarded as a technical research on the production of 3-hydroxybutanone by a pure natural biological fermentation method, which is of great significance.