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::APPLICATION OF GLUTAMIC ACID::
I.Introduction

Glutamic acid have been the object of scientific study for over 150 years and have been sold as chemical products for the past eight decades. The application of glutamic acid can be broken down into four categories that include:

Research products and analytical standards
Comprised of glutamic acid and its derivatives, these compounds are used as reagents in biological and biochemical research, in biochemical processing and in automated and semi-automated analyzers used in chemical, medical and food industries. Glutamic acid reagents and derivatives are associated with protein synthesis techniques and with research in cell biology and biochemistry. Meanwhile, the food processing and pharmaceuticals industry also need appropriate analytical standards for amino acid assays of foods and medicines.

Medical/Pharmaceutical application
Glutamic acid used as inputs for medical and pharmaceutical products will grow throughout the forecast period. These products include the most important enteral/parenteral nutrition solutions given to severely ill-hospitalized patients and neuractive drugs used as a vital nerve stimulant. A category of miscellaneous medical applications consisting of specialized diets for people with metabolic disorders and drugs designed to dissolve mucous in the lungs.

Flavor enhancer and human dietary supplement
The fraction of total amino acid value represented by food grade glutamic acid is shrinking during the past three years. This product will continue to decline in value in the future.

Chemical intermediate
This product group is composed of amino acid compounds destined to become drugs, polymers and other chemical products.

II. Research Products and Analytical Standards

Glutamic acid and its derivatives have been used in basic chemical research for the past 150 years. Even so, their applications have not been noted in chemical encyclopedias published as recently as a few years ago. The commercial significance of their use, especially on medicine and biochemical processing, has only emerged during the past ten to twenty years. The current situation represents a significant change, and the changes were brought about by developments in several branches of science and technology. The combined effect of progress in genetic engineering, biopolymers, and protein engineering has fueled the demand for purified glutamic acid and their derivatives.

TABLE 1
MAJOR USES OF GLUTAMIC ACID AND ITS DERIVATIVES IN RESEARCH

PROTEIN ENGINEERING	Peptide synthesis Protein modification Polymer supports
BIOCHEMICAL/CELL BIOLOGY	Biochemical experiments Cell biology research
ANALYTICAL APPLICATIONS	Analytical standards Diagnostic products and procedures

TABLE 2
ANALYTICAL USES OF GLUTAMIC ACID AND ITS DERIVATIVES

Mechod of analysis	From of glutamic acid reagent	Application
Gas chromatography	Pure glutamic acid or derivatives	Research medical food processing
Affinity chromatography	Glutamic acids bonded to polymer and other types	Separating complex roteins/high molecular weight materials
Radioisotope tracers	Radiolabelled liquid or solid	Medical Pharmaceutical

The glutamic acid products for research and analytical uses fall into five broad categories:
glutamic acid reagents and their derivatives;glutamic acid with protection groups;radiolabelled glutamic acid and derivatives;glutamic acid-impregnated polymer support materials for protein synthesis; and
analytical standards.

III. Medical/Pharmaceutical Application
While medical and pharmaceutical application of glutamic acid comprise only a small fraction of the total volume sold annually, their share of total market value is growing. Several factors are stimulating the heightened interest in these specialty amino acid products. The trends include ongoing medical and pharmaceutical research such as: research into the chemistry and physiological functions of both normal and cancerous cells;biochemical research into the functions of proteins, peptides and amino acids in the human body; and finally,biochemical engineering efforts that seek to design predictable and cost-effective production processes for compounds that diagnose and treat diseases.

TABLE 3 MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS

TREATING DISEASE	Parenteral nutrition / Prescription dietary supplements / Congenital metabolic diseases / Hypertension Neuroregulators / Ophthalmic solutions
DIAGNOSING DISEASE	Congenital metabolic diseases / Disorders or malfunction of brain/nervous system

One can use glutamic acid products to treat as well as diagnose diseases. In general, glutamic acid are used as ophthalmic or intravenous feeding solution, prescription dietary supplements, or drugs given for high blood pressure or disorders of the nervous system.

TABLE 4 THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS OF GLUTAMIC ACID

Applications	Types	Therapy
Enteral nutrition	crystalline GA in solution	Source of protein precursors for hospitalized patients unable to eat or eat enough to get or stay healthy. Nutrients routed through digestive tract.
Parenteral nutrition	crystalline GA in solution	As above, but solution routed through circulatory system via a vein.
Prescription dietary supplements	tablet / capsule / powder	Protein precursors for people able to eat but who need very highly concentrated source to recover from illness or surgery.
Congenital metabolic diseases	powder	Prescription diets for newborn babies and other who need a diet devoid of or with highly reduced content of specific amino acids.
Hypertension	capsules / injection	Prescription drugs that reduce blood pressure.
Neuro-regulators	capsules / injection	Prescripion drugs to stimulate sluggish nerve activity or to dampen neural activity in disorders of the nervous system.

IV. Flavor enhancer and human dietary supplement
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), the single largest amino acid product, has been used as a flavor enhancer throughout the world for the past forty years. MSG is used worldwide in huge quantities as a flavor enhancer in foods. In Western countries, MSG is used as domestic flavor enhancer. In Japan, on the other hand, MSG is marketed only to the food processing industries, while MSG mixtures with 1.5-8.0% disodium 5'-ribonucleotides have gained a wider domestic market.

Amino acid diet supplements have arisen as an outgrowth of several technological developments. Glutamic acid can easily lose its amino group (-NH2) and thus participates in the transamination process. Also, glutamic acid is the precursor of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), a chemical associated with nervous system function.

V. Chemical Intermediate
One of the fastest-growing markets for glutamic acid is that for chemical intermediates. These products are distinguished from inputs of other product, such as cell culture media, where the amino acids are consumed as part of the product's use. Chemical intermediates are products that are used to make other chemical products. The example of product using glutamic acid as intermediate is glutathione, one kind of liver drug.

What is GA?

Applications(1)

Applications(2)