Isoleucine (isoleucine) production technology continues to make breakthroughs and market demand is increasingly strong

Isoleucine, also known as isoleucine and 2-amino-3-methylpentanoic acid, has a chemical formula of C6H13NO2 and is an aliphatic neutral amino acid. Isoleucine appears as white crystals or crystalline powder, slightly soluble in water, and insoluble in ether and ethanol. Isoleucine is optically active and can be subdivided into two isomers, D-isoleucine and L-isoleucine. It is used in many fields such as food processing, cosmetics, health products, biomedicine, electrochemistry, and photochemistry. Wide range of applications.

According to the “2023-2028 China Isoleucine (Isoleucine) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center 》shows that microbial fermentation is the main preparation method of isoleucine, which can be subdivided into direct fermentation and precursor fermentation. The microbial fermentation method has the advantages of green environmental protection, low production cost, mild reaction conditions, and high yield of finished products, and is suitable for large-scale production. In recent years, with the continuous deepening of research, my country’s microbial fermentation technology has continued to make breakthroughs, driving the continuous improvement of isoleucine production capacity and output. Taking L-isoleucine as an example, my country’s L-isoleucine production will reach 6,120 tons in 2022, setting a record high.

Isoleucine is a branched-chain amino acid and is widely used in many fields such as food processing, cosmetics, health products, biomedicine, electrochemistry, and photochemistry. In the field of food processing, isoleucine can be used to produce beverages, milk powder, dairy products, etc.; in the field of cosmetics, isoleucine has moisturizing, antioxidant and other effects, and can be used to produce products such as creams and lotions; in the field of health care products, Isoleucine can improve human immunity and can be used to produce nutritional supplements, protein powder, etc.; in the field of biomedicine, isoleucine can be used to study pharmacological effects.

In recent years, as the number of cancer patients continues to grow, global research on the cellular metabolism of branched-chain amino acids such as isoleucine has continued to deepen. In 2023, Lei Qunying’s team at Fudan University Cancer Hospital discovered that the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids such as isoleucine, valine and leucine will affect tumor growth and metastasis. As the development of the medical research industry accelerates, the market demand for isoleucine is expected to grow further.

The main isoleucine manufacturers in my country include Fufeng Biological, Wuxi Jinghai, Meihua Biological, Jinyao Pharmaceutical, etc. At present, Fufeng Biological and Wuxi Jinghai have used fermentation methods to achieve large-scale production of isoleucine, but the quality still lags behind that of overseas developed countries.

Industry analysts said that as a branched-chain amino acid, isoleucine has broad application prospects in the medical field. In recent years, Chinese companies have continued to increase research on isoleucine preparation methods. Benefiting from technological progress, my country’s isoleucine production capacity and output have increased. However, at present, my country’s production capacity of high-quality isoleucine is low, and its demand is highly dependent on imports. It is expected that in the future, driven by technological innovation, high quality will become the mainstream development trend of my country’s isoleucine industry.