Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (Glyceryl monostearate)

It is a chemical compound, the glycerol ester of stearic acid, and comes in the form of an odourless, hygroscopic, white granular or flaky powder. It has a slightly sweet taste, which is why it is often added to foods.

It is found in the human body as a by-product of the breakdown of fats.

From where it is extracted

Derived from glycerin E422 and from fatty acids, such as soybean oil, but also from rapeseed oil, palm oil and other oils. As the name implies, the generic term "fatty acids" does not make it possible to trace what type of oil is used, whether saturated, unsaturated or hydrogenated, or genetically modified and it can be derived from animal fats. 

From fungi lipase as Malassezia globosa, Penicillium camembertii, Aspergillus oryzae (1)

What it is used for

Food

Ingredient included in the list of European food additives as E471.

It serves as a thickener, non-ionic emulsifier and stabiliser in order to refine softness and increase volume: bread, croissants, chocolate, cakes, biscuits, ice cream, pasta, panettone, corn flakes, food supplements, chips, crackers, etc.

Plastic. PVC lubricant, EPE foaming agent, PE antifogging agent.

Pharmaceutical and cosmetics. Thickener, non-ionic emulsifier and stabiliser

Safety

The estimated combined intake of E 470a, E 471 and E 477 at the maximum permitted levels could lead to a maximum total exposure of 84 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day for toddlers and 20 mg/kg bw per day for adults. Using a reference body weight of 12 kg for toddlers and of 70 kg for adults, the highest amount of emulsifiers ingested per person per day would be 1,008 mg for toddlers and 1,400 mg for adults. As a conservative approach, it could be assumed that these doses could be consumed on a single occasion (2).

Glycerol monostearate studies

Typical optimal characteristics of E471 commercial product

Molecular Formula: C₂₁H₄₂O₄

Molecular  Weight : 358.563

CAS : 123-94-4  31566-31-1   22610-63-5   14811-92-8   85666-92-8   83138-62-9   37349-34-1

Synonyms :

Mono- and diacylglycerol, Glyceryl Monostearate, Monostearin, 1-Monostearoylglycerol, Glyceryl stearate, tegin, Stearic acid 1-monoglyceride, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl octadecanoate, Stearic acid alpha-monoglyceride

References________________________________________________________________________

(1) Yuan D, Lan D, Xin R, Yang B, Wang Y. Biochemical properties of a new cold-active mono- and diacylglycerol lipase from marine member Janibacter sp. strain HTCC2649. Int J Mol Sci. 2014 Jun 12;15(6):10554-66. doi: 10.3390/ijms150610554.

Abstract. Mono- and di-acylglycerol lipase has been applied to industrial usage in oil modification for its special substrate selectivity. Until now, the reported mono- and di-acylglycerol lipases from microorganism are limited, and there is no report on the mono- and di-acylglycerol lipase from bacteria. A predicted lipase (named MAJ1) from marine Janibacter sp. strain HTCC2649 was purified and biochemical characterized. MAJ1 was clustered in the family I.7 of esterase/lipase. The optimum activity of the purified MAJ1 occurred at pH 7.0 and 30 °C. The enzyme retained 50% of the optimum activity at 5 °C, indicating that MAJ1 is a cold-active lipase. The enzyme activity was stable in the presence of various metal ions, and inhibited in EDTA. MAJ1 was resistant to detergents. MAJ1 preferentially hydrolyzed mono- and di-acylglycerols, but did not show activity to triacylglycerols of camellia oil substrates. Further, MAJ1 is low homologous to that of the reported fungal diacylglycerol lipases, including Malassezia globosa lipase 1 (SMG1), Penicillium camembertii lipase U-150 (PCL), and Aspergillus oryzae lipase (AOL). Thus, we identified a novel cold-active bacterial lipase with a sn-1/3 preference towards mono- and di-acylglycerides for the first time. Moreover, it has the potential, in oil modification, for special substrate selectivity.

(2) Scientific Opinion related to a notification from DuPont Nutrition Biosciences Aps on behenic acid from mustard seeds to be used in the manufacturing of certain emulsifiers pursuant to Article 21(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 – for permanent exemption from labelling
First published: 15 November 2016
EFSA DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4631

Abstract. Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion related to a notification from DuPont Nutrition Biosciences Aps on behenic acid from mustard seeds to be used in the manufacturing of certain emulsifiers pursuant to Article 21(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 – for permanent exemption from labelling. Behenic acid is produced from rapeseed–mustard seed variants prevalent in India, namely Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. (oriental mustard), Brassica rapa (L.) (brown/yellow Sarson or Toria), Brassica napus (L.) (rapeseed) and Brassica nigra (L.) W.D.J.Koch (black mustard). No human or animal allergenicity data were provided by the applicant for either behenic acid or the emulsifiers manufactured from behenic acid. Based on enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) data, the Panel considers that proteins and peptides may not be carried over into behenic acid after the two distillation steps reported in the manufacturing process in amounts beyond 1 mg/kg. The Panel notes that the maximum amount of mustard protein that could be consumed from emulsifiers manufactured from behenic acid (E 470a, E 471 and E 477) on a single occasion by an adult under the proposed conditions of use would be around 0.00119 mg, which is about 1,000 times lower than the protein doses reported to trigger allergic reactions in mustard‐allergic individuals (around 1 mg). On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that oral consumption of emulsifiers manufactured using behenic acid from mustard seeds (E 470a, E 471 and E 477) are unlikely to trigger an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals (i.e. mustard‐allergic individuals) under the proposed conditions of use.