What is Polylysine used？
ε-Polylysine is one of the globally permitted food preservatives to protect a wide variety of products such as rice products, flour products, cooked meat, juice, beverages and baked goods against bacterias, yeasts and molds. Due to the benefits of ε-Polylysine as a natural and efficient food preservation method, its application has a huge potential to extend shelf life and prevent spoilage.
Polylysine and shelflife
ε-Polylysine can significantly extend the shelf life of many products, like boiled rice, cooked vegetables, soups, noodles and sliced fish (sushi). For example, a kind of boiled egg products can have a shelf life of 120 days following the application of ε-Polylysine. Without preservation, its shelf life is less than two weeks.
Permitted worldwide
ε-Polylysine is food grade and meets FAO/WHO specifications. It is certified as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by the US FDA with US GRAS No.: GRN000135. Currently ,ε-Polylysine has approval as a food additive in China, Korea, Japan USA and some more countries.
Effective at low doses and stable at wide pH range and high temperature
ε-Polylysine remains stable at a wide pH range (3-9). As most foods have a pH value between pH 4 and pH 7, this makes ε-Polylysine a very versatile food preservative. Also ε-Polylysine can be stable for 30min at 120℃, which make it can adjust many food manufacturing process. In order to prevent spoilage in food applications, it works at low dosages between 150-200 ppm. This translates into 0.15g to 0.2g of ε-Polylysine in 1 kg of a final product.
No color, taste or odor deviations
Unlike many other preservation options, the application of ε-Polylysine in foods does not produce changes in taste, color or odor. This makes it suitable as a food preservative in a wide range of products.
Medical uses
ε-Polylysine can be used as carrier for drugs, it is widely used in medical industry. The polymerization of ε-Polylysine and methotrexate (a drug for the treatment of leukemia and tumor) can improve the efficacy of the drug. Research on the degree of damage to cell membranes modified with different molecular weight ε-Polylysine by electric pulses, and found that the absorption of high molecular weight ε-Polylysine on the cell membrane will reduce the damage threshold voltage.
Other uses
During the production, storage and use of cosmetics, they are extremely susceptible to microbial contamination and lead to corruption. The deterioration and mildew of cosmetics due to microbial contamination are very harmful to human skin. ε-Polylysine has broad-spectrum antibacterial properties, which can effectively inhibit the growth of various microorganisms and ensure product quality. ε-Polylysine is a polymer of various amino acids and is a nutritional preservative, so it is more environmental friendly, safe and efficient. In addition, ε-Polylysine is also widely used in personal care products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, hand soap, wipes, kitchen cleaners, and baby diapers.